Floyd Mayweather dominates John Gotti III in exhibition that includes bizarre referee substitution

Well, this is a new one: Floyd Mayweather kicked the referee out of the ring mid-fight vs. John Gotti III.

The rematch between [autotag]Floyd Mayweather[/autotag] and [autotag]John Gotti III[/autotag] included no brawl. Just more Mayweather domination.

And boos.

The crowd voiced its displeasure after the eight-round exhibition in Mexico City.

There were no knockdowns. No glassy-eyed looks. No staggering.

Because the fight was an exhibition, it was not officially scored. But Mayweather, 47, dominated Gotti, 31, the grandson of late crime boss John Gotti. Mayweather was able to hit Gotti with relative ease and connected plenty — but he never rocked his opponent.

“Gotti is tough as nails.” Mayweather said after the fight.

Mayweather praised Julio Cesar Chavez Sr., who was there as part of the broadcast team, then said “Mexico City, I love you guys. Thanks for coming out.’’

The fans cheered.

The first fight between Mayweather and Gotti, in June 2023, ended in a brawl after the referee stopped the fight in the sixth round because of excessive trash talk and holding. Gotti maneuvered around the referee and threw punches at Mayweather and members of the fighters’ camps flooded into the ring as a melee broke out.

There were moments of tension Saturday. Gotti grew agitated when the rounds, which were supposed to be two minutes, ran long. And Mayweather looked angry when the referee warned him about punches to the back of Gotti’s head. In fact, a new referee entered the ring.

But it was largely peaceful — more peaceful than the crowd hoped for, seemingly — and it ended with Mayweather and Gotti embracing.

“He’s my guy,” Mayweather said of Gotti, with his arm around his opponent. “But we had to put on a show for the people. And I want to thank Gotti for being a man of his word and we ran it back twice.”

Gotti said Mayweather “hit hard.”

“He’s still got it,” Gotti said.

What’s next for Floyd Mayweather?

Not an exhibition with Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.

During an in-ring interview after the fight, Mayweather embraced the 62-year-old Chavez.

“He’s one of the legends I look up to and he paved the way for me,’’ Mayweather said.

But the two getting into the ring to box? “He’s older now, and if I do an exhibition with him it’s not going to look good for me,’’ Mayweather said.

Earlier this week, Mayweather said he’d been offered a deal for three more exhibitions but provided no additional details.

“We just got a call about a three-exhibition deal and it’s a crazy number. …So, we don’t know,” Mayweather said.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=420040922]