In a high-stakes exhibition bout that quickly spiraled into chaos, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. found himself in an unexpected in-ring brawl with MMA fighter/boxer John Gotti III at the FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, broadcasted live on Zeus PPV.
The fight, initially designed as an exhibition, spiraled out of control when the referee, Kenny Bayless, was forced to stop the bout prematurely, leading to a clash between Mayweather and Gotti III, grandson of the late crime boss John Gotti.
The tension in the bout was palpable from the start. Gotti III had made it clear that he idolized Mayweather but would carry “bad intentions” into the ring. The heat escalated when Mayweather deviated from his usual tactic of matching his opponent’s intensity, opting instead to open in fight mode. Mayweather dominated the early rounds, landing a series of devastating body shots and trapping Gotti against the ropes. Despite Gotti's attempts at offense, Mayweather's tactics forced him to spend most of his time in defense.
By the fourth round, Mayweather continued his forward assault, pinning Gotti against the ropes and hitting him with an onslaught of blows to the body. Gotti's response was to ramp up the trash talk during the fifth round, resulting in a warning from referee Bayless. The confrontation reached boiling point in the sixth round when, in the midst of an extended clinch and ongoing verbal exchange, Bayless halted the contest.
This intervention triggered a near-immediate backlash, as Gotti sought to bypass the referee to launch an attack on Mayweather. He was promptly met with an overhand right from Mayweather, igniting a chaotic scene as Mayweather's security team and Gotti’s affiliates flooded the ring. Once the order was restored, Bayless explained his decision to stop the fight, citing the escalating trash talk and its contentious tone. Despite the heated exchanges and ensuing brawl, Mayweather emerged relatively unscathed, leaving fans eager to see when the ringmaster will stage his next “legalized heist”.
Image Credit: DAZN