Brawl erupts after exhibition fight between Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti III called off
Floyd Mayweather’s latest exhibition fight did not go well
Floyd Mayweather was back in the ring on Sunday night, but it didn’t go well for anybody at FLA Live Arena.
Chaos erupted in the middle of the exhibition bout between Mayweather and John Gotti III. After it was called off in the sixth round, people from both of the fighters’ camps and the crowd flooded the ring and started fighting.
Things got out of hand, fast, and Mayweather quickly left the ring to get out of there.
Chaos ERUPTS after the Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti III fight was waived off 😳
(via @The_ZeusNetwork)pic.twitter.com/sRBWXTj1DM— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 12, 2023
The fight was chaotic from the outset. The start was delayed briefly after the two camps got into it early on, and Mayweather was toying with Gotti the whole way through.
Gotti complained frequently, and got called for holding late in the fifth round. He complained to referee Kenny Bayless about being hit in the back of the head at one point, and even threw Mayweather into an illegal hold.
Moments into the sixth round, when things hadn’t changed, Bayless called off the fight. But Gotti wasn’t having it.
Gotti ran around Bayless and tried to keep fighting Mayweather, which is when everyone swarmed into the ring to get involved. There were fights in the crowd outside of the ring, too.
Gotti, 30, held a 5-1 MMA record and is 2-0 as a professional boxer. He beat Alex Citrowske earlier this year in his last professional fight. Gotti is the grandson of infamous former New York mob boss John Gotti.
Mayweather officially retired from boxing in 2017 with an undefeated record, though he’s been competing in exhibition bouts ever since. He even took on YouTuber Logan Paul in a fight in 2021.
Sunday’s fight with Gotti marked the seventh Mayweather has done since his retirement. It was, however, the worst organized by far.