The best action Sunday at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida, occurred after the Floyd Mayweather-John Gotti III exhibition.
The retired Hall of Famer toyed with his far less-experienced opponent for five rounds, fighting with his hands down, playing to the crowd and doing a lot of talking.
Then, in Round 6, the trash talk led to chaos. Referee Kenny Bayless, evidently tired of the fighters’ clinching and non-stop verbal exchanges, suddenly stopped the fight.
The ref stopped the fight and that's what caused John Gotti III to go wild & attack Floyd Mayweather #MayweatherGotti pic.twitter.com/dh3aVhPQcO
— Sporting News Fights (@sn_fights) June 12, 2023
The move enraged the grandson of reputed gangster John Gotti, who wanted to continue and refused to stop throwing punches. He even pushed Bayless out of the way so he could get at Mayweather.
All that triggered a full-blown brawl inside the ring involving members of the fighters’ teams.
Full blown chaos in the ring as a wild brawl unleashes during #MayweatherGotti 😱 pic.twitter.com/Mu7Yh4yQYo
— Sporting News Fights (@sn_fights) June 12, 2023
Both of the fighters evidently were able to get out of the ring unscathed after the chaos erupted. It’s not clear whether anyone else was injured during the melee.
It was the 46-year-old Mayweather’s seventh exhibition since he last took part in a sanctioned bout in 2017, when he stopped Conor McGregor.
Gotti, 30, has minimal experience in both boxing and mixed martial arts.