Mexico City (AFP) – Former world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather outmatched John Gotti III, the grandson of the late New York crime boss, in an exhibition fight Saturday that left the Mexico City crowd unimpressed. Mayweather, 47, retired from boxing in 2017, unbeaten in 50 bouts, but continues to appear in fights that do not count towards his career record. The 31-year-old Gotti, who had a 5-1 record in MMA fights before switching to boxing, is the grandson of John Gotti, the head of the Gambino crime family who died in prison in 2002. Mayweather has also fought reality television stars and YouTube fighters in some of his exhibitions.
He dominated Gotti from start to finish despite confusion when a round-ending bell did not sound and when the referee left the ring mid-fight. The eight-round bout included two-minute rounds with two-minute rest periods. Gotti, the first to enter the ring in an arena packed with more than 22,000 spectators, showed little effort during the fight, provoking the audience’s disdain. Mayweather came out throwing rights to Gotti’s head in the first round, Gotti limiting himself to containing the punishment.
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There was a moment of confusion after two minutes because the bell did not ring, and the fight continued until complaints were heard from Gotti’s corner. There was more bewilderment in the second round when, after a forbidden punch by Mayweather, Panamanian referee Hector Afu left the ring, apparently annoyed by Mayweather’s actions. Mexican referee Alfredo Uruzquieta then took over. Mayweather easily eluded Gotti in the third round and unleashed on his rival, who he had against the ropes. It was not until the fourth that Gotti threw some serious punches to Mayweather’s body, although with little effect. The crowd began to show their displeasure with whistles over Gotti’s lack of combativeness towards the end of the round.
Mayweather rained blows on Gotti, who did little to defend himself, in the sixth and seventh rounds, leaving fans even more annoyed. Mayweather cornered Gotti in the final round, but his opponent held on until the final bell. There was no official winner because the bout was an exhibition match. Mayweather and Gotti fought their first exhibition in South Florida in June 2023, a fight that was stopped in the sixth round because of insults between both fighters that caused a melee in the ring.
© 2024 AFP
