Floyd Mayweather Dominates John Gotti III In Demonstration With Bizarre Referee Change

The rematch between (autotag)Floyd Mayweather(/autotag) and (autotag)John Gotti III(/autotag) featured no brawl. Just more Mayweather dominance.

And boos.

The crowd expressed its displeasure after the eight-round exhibition match in Mexico City.

There were no knockdowns. No glazed looks. No faltering.

Because the fight was an exhibition, there was no official scoring. But Mayweather, 47, dominated Gotti, 31, the grandson of late crime boss John Gotti. Mayweather was able to hit Gotti with relative ease, and landed plenty — but he never shook his opponent.

“Gotti is a tough fighter,” Mayweather said after the fight.

Mayweather praised Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., who was there as part of the broadcast team, and then said, “Mexico City, I love you guys. Thank you for coming.”

The fans cheered.

The first fight between Mayweather and Gotti, in June 2023, ended in a brawl after the referee stopped the fight in the sixth round for excessive trash talking and holding. Gotti maneuvered around the referee and threw punches at Mayweather, and members of the fighters’ camps streamed into the ring as a melee broke out.

There were moments of tension Saturday. Gotti grew irritated when the rounds, which were supposed to last two minutes, went on too long. And Mayweather seemed angry when the referee warned him about punches to the back of Gotti’s head. In fact, a new referee entered the ring.

But it was largely peaceful – more peaceful than the crowd had hoped, it seemed – and it ended with Mayweather and Gotti embracing.

“He’s my man,” Mayweather said of Gotti, his arm around his opponent. “But we had to put on a show for the crowd. And I want to thank Gotti for being a man of his word and us winning twice.”

Gotti said Mayweather “hit hard.”

“He still has it,” Gotti said.

What’s next for Floyd Mayweather?

No exhibition with Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

During an in-ring interview after the fight, Mayweather embraced the 62-year-old Chavez.

“He’s one of the legends that I look up to and he paved the way for me,” Mayweather said.

But the two of them getting in the ring to box? “He’s older now, and if I do an exhibition with him, it doesn’t look good for me,” Mayweather said.

Earlier this week, Mayweather said he had been offered three more exhibition bouts, but he did not provide further details.

“We just got a call about a three-fight exhibition deal and it’s a crazy number. … So we don’t know,” Mayweather said.

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This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Floyd Mayweather Dominates John Gotti III In Showdown That Features Bizarre Referee Change