Roc Nation’s roster is growing.
Jay Z’s multi-faceted entertainment agency has just added undefeated welterweight prospect Dusty “The Beltway Boriqua” Hernandez-Harrison to its all star stable of sports athletes.
Harrison is slated to face off against Tommy “The Razor” Rainone in the main event tonight (December 9) at Roc Nation Sports’ first ever “Throne Boxing.”
The Hip Hop-infused affair features three separate matchups. Power 105.1’s Angie Martinez will emcee, Fabolous will perform between bouts and DJ Mustard will provide the hits – outside the ring.
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Meshing Hip Hop with boxing is a combination that precedes this event.
“Boxers have been coming out to Hip Hop music since forever,” Fabolous says during an exclusive interview with HipHopDX at the weigh-ins inside Manhattan’s 40/40 Club. “I think it goes hand-in-hand. Hip Hop fans are also sports fans and sports fans are also Hip Hop fans. You’ve seen it all the way back to when [Mike] Tyson used to hang out with ‘Pac.”
Mustard agrees. “It’s been going on for so long,” he says. “Rappers bring out boxers into the arenas. It’s been a part of fighting culture.”
Neither of the two have ever participated in that spirited stroll to the ring but both wish they could have joined former champions.
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“I definitely would’ve loved to come out with Tyson because of how big he was to the era and he also was from Brooklyn,” Fabolous says. “He was a symbol of showing people from our hood you can be something big. Every time you come out they always announce your name, and say, ‘From Brooklyn, New York’ that always stuck with you too because Michael Buffer is screaming out your town and we’ve never seen nobody on that level. I think that was always big with me.”
“I would’ve walked with Muhammad [Ali],” Mustard interjects.
The Hip Hop mogul responsible for putting together tonight’s event also had a say on signing Mustard and Fabolous to Roc Nation’s music management division.
While Jay Z hasn’t received much flack for signing a bevy of the entertainment realms top stars, it’s the sport’s world that questions his presence.
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“Jay knows sports,” Mustard says. “He’s really into sports and he’s one of those people who actually get it. There are a lot of people who are in sports that don’t actually get it.”
“Throne Boxing” is scheduled to take place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 starting at 10 pm EST.
Photograph by: Phyllicia Williams
For additional coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
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