The rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and John Gotti III just concluded. As expected, Mayweather Jr dominated Gotti from the first bell. But since it was an exhibition bout, the fight wasn’t scored. Fortunately, this time around no brawl ensued between the two camps.
The fight had no highlight reel moments, as it was starved of any high-octane action and didn’t register any knockdowns, apart from certain heated instances at the beginning of the fight.
In fact, it looked like the two camps might rush the ring again. Throw a dodgy refereeing decision and incorrect time-keeping into an already hostile atmosphere, and the matchup looked like a timebomb waiting to detonate. Without further ado, let’s delve into the theatrics that happened in the initial rounds of the exhibition fight.
Referee faces Floyd Mayweather’s wrath
It seems some of the controversy that occurred at the first exhibition bout between Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti III has followed its way to the rematch as well. From the first round itself, there was tension. As usual, Mayweather engaged in his usual showboating antics and was landing shots on Gotti with ease. However, tensions soared after the conclusion of the first round.
The round went beyond the two-minute mark, and Gotti made his displeasure known to the referee. However, the most shocking event happened in round two. The referee warned Mayweather for a debatable behind-the head-shot on Gotti. Annoyed, the 50-boxer pushed him out of the way.
Then, midway through round 2, a member of Gotti’s team entered the ring after the referee seemed to stop the grandson of late crime boss John Gotti from engaging with Mayweather. Floyd Mayweather made his displeasure known immediately.
Shockingly, as a result, the referee was dismissed, and another one was brought into the ring to officiate. Observing all the chaos and confusion, WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson and other notable figures from the combat sports world reacted to the fiasco in their unique way.
It is Floyd Mayweather’s world, and we are all living in it
Stevenson claimed that Mayweather was the boss after referees were swapped midway through round two. Stevenson was clearly in disbelief, as he had never witnessed a referee get replaced midway through the fight on the insistence of a fighter. He wrote on X, “I never seen a ref get kicked out, Floyd the Goat for sure.”
Meanwhile, Combat sports insider Jed I. Goodman was also shocked by the chain of events that took place. Pointing out the highlight moment of the fight, he posted on X, “Now they swapped the referees.”
Additionally, Goodman also pointed out that the timekeeper forgot to signal the end of round one to the referee.
What do you think of the controversy and drama that unfolded during the Gotti-Mayweather exhibition bout?