- 1,210
- 11
- 38
Every so often, a “boxing is dead” crowd forms if given the opportunity. It could be from a bad result or a boxer doing something outlandish in or out of the ring. One small sample will result in a declaration that the sky is falling.
On June 11, that crowd woke up with a smirk following the farce that unfolded at the Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III exhibition.
The FLA Live Arena is home to the Florida Panthers, who defied the odds and made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, beating some of the best teams in the sport. A multi-division champion, Mayweather, the best in his sport, competed in another one of his exhibitions. This time, it was against the grandson of John Gotti.
As he has done in his last bouts against the likes of Don Moore, Deji, and Aaron Chalmers, Mayweather had fun vs. Gotti. The Hall of Famer had his hands down, wasn't wearing a guard in his mouth, and got into Gotti's head. Gotti tried to play 'Money's' game, but referee Kenny Bayless didn’t like the trash-talking between the two. Following a hold by Gotti in the corner (he has competed in MMA), Bayless called off the fight after the sixth round.
An enraged Gotti went on to try to still fight Mayweather, with Mayweather landing a clean shot to the former. Both teams, including a large Mayweather entourage that brought him down to the ring and initially delayed the fight, brawled. The ring was full of people, and everyone wanted a piece of the action. A fight later spilled to the outside, where audience members and, allegedly, the camps of both fighters fought near the backstage tunnel.