Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III Exhibition Boxing Fight Rematch Goes the Distance
August 25, 2024
John Gotti III made it to the final bell with Floyd Mayweather in an eight-round exhibition boxing bout from the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico. The bout was not officially scored so no official winner was declared, but it's safe to say Money got the better of Gotti.
DAZN declared him the winner even without scorecards.
DAZN Boxing @DAZNBoxing🥊<a href="https://twitter.com/FloydMayweather?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FloydMayweather</a> looked sharp against John Gotti III 🥇<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MayweatherGotti?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MayweatherGotti</a> <a href="https://t.co/GpO0vDYezs">pic.twitter.com/GpO0vDYezs</a>
From the outset of the fight, Mayweather was drawing in the attention of some of boxing's biggest stars.
It also didn't take long for things to get bizarre either. After Mayweather and Gotti's first fight was ended early due to trash talking, Mayweather wasn't taking any chance and replaced the referee in the fight during the second round.
Mayweather did a good job of controlling the tempo and location of the fight with his defense. He would often lure Gotti to the ropes and frustrate him with his head movement while firing back the occasional hook to the body.
Money did open up more as the fight went on. He occasionally fired off a few combinations when Gotti left openings.
The bout brought a more definitive conclusion to the rivalry between the legendary boxer and the grandson of American crime boss John Gotti. Their first bout took place in June 2023, but it was stopped in the sixth round due to excessive trash talking.
The result was a frustrated Gotti swinging on Mayweather after the bout and chaos erupted in the arena.
Fortunately, this time went off without as many theatrics.
Mayweather continues to find ways to make money with his boxing skills long after retirement. The 47-year-old has now fought eight times in exhibition bouts since his last official fight against Conor McGregor in 2017.
While they have all been unscored bouts, Mayweather has either knocked his opponent out or clearly would have won by decision in each of them.
As long as Mayweather is willing to put on his gloves he will continue to draw attention from other fighters. UFC champion Sean O'Malley was the latest in a long line of fighters who have called for a fight with Mayweather.
In today's era of influencer fights and non-traditional tentpole fights doing major money, it wouldn't be surprising to see Mayweather do at least one more major exhibition.