Boxing legend Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. took part in his most recent exhibition match on Sunday evening, where he went up against John Gotti III at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida.
Mayweather, an International Boxing Hall of Famer, retired professionally with a legendary undefeated record of 50-0. His vast experience in the ring provided him with a significant advantage over Gotti, who had participated in only two professional boxing matches before facing Mayweather. Additionally, Gotti carried a respectable 5-1 professional MMA record into the fight.
This bout would mark Mayweather’s seventh exhibition fight after retiring. This would also be the first match for the Hall of Famer in the United States since his June 2021 fight against influencer, Logan Paul.
“Money” was easily in control for five rounds, hardly breaking a sweat as he talked trash and landed punches on Gotti. Mayweather, without a mouthguard and with his hands down, delivered the kind of performance we've come to expect from his exhibition fights. As tensions escalated between them, referee Kenny Bayless struggled to break up their clinches and put an end to their verbal exchanges.
Mayweather quickly initiated the action by targeting Gotti's body with hooks. He followed up with an overhand right, which Gotti successfully blocked. Gotti managed to land a decent jab but primarily focused on defense during the opening round. In the second round, Mayweather landed a solid right hand on Gotti while they were in a clinch. Mayweather slowed down in the third, but still dominated the round.
Tensions rose in the fourth round as both fighters engaged in more trash talk. Gotti was frustrated after Mayweather landed a right hand punch to the back of the head. In the fifth round, things only escalated between the two as they continued further antagonizing each other.
As the fight went on, it became evident that Gotti couldn't keep up with Mayweather's speed and technical skills. After nonstop bad-mouthing, referee Kenny Bayless intervened, ending the fight early in the sixth round.
Following the stoppage, an enraged Gotti attempted to confront Mayweather, sparking a confrontation between both fighters' camps. As the chaos continued, Gotti was eventually escorted backstage. Some members of the crowd even entered the ring, prompting Mayweather to quickly retreat backstage to avoid further escalation. The pause that was meant to cool things down instead, had the opposite effect with over sixty people in the ring by the end of the brawl.
Even after the fighters left, the violence continued with additional brawls erupting both inside and outside the ring. Mayweather's team pleaded with the fans to leave the venue peacefully, urging them to refrain from any more violence.
The exhibition was meant to be a fun event, but things took a wild turn halfway through. It was quite a change from the friendly atmosphere between Mayweather and Gotti leading up to the fight. The outcome of the fight wouldn't impact Mayweather or Gotti's records, but Mayweather appeared unfazed by the action. While there were no official judges scoring the rounds, MMAFighting had given all five previous rounds to Mayweather.
ProBox TV reached out to the Florida Athletic Commission for comment on whether the boxers would face suspensions or sanctions, with no response as of yet.
