The Undefeated Champion and the Up-and-Coming Fighter.
You can take him away from professional boxing, but you can’t keep Floyd Mayweather from punching random fighters in exhibition fights.
Yes, the latest boxing rumors have revealed that Floyd “Money” Mayweather is stepping into the ring again, this time versus John Gotti III, the grandson of former New York City mob boss John Gotti.
I’m still perplexed how exhibition fights draw so much attention, but they undoubtedly do. Especially for the pockets of those involved. Mayweather reportedly earned in excess of $100 million from his exhibition bout versus YouTuber, turned boxer, turned WWE wrestler Logan Paul.
EXHIBITION ANNOUNCED
FLOYD MAYWEATHER VS JOHN GOTTI III will be fighting at the FLA LIVE ARENA in Miami on June 11, 2023 💥👊🏾
Hosted by @The_ZeusNetwork#Boxing #boxingnews #boxingfans #boxeo #boxingtraining #sports #youtube #video #womensboxing #tmt #mayweather pic.twitter.com/w0FBH775JH
— SportBox TV Official™️ | #1 Sports News Coverage (@SportBoxTV) April 28, 2023
Mayweather vs Gotti III: The Ins and Outs
Mayweather, 46, removed himself from professional boxing following his TKO victory over UFC superstar Conor McGregor, a fight that moved his record to 50-0. “There are no more real fights for me, only exhibitions”, he told the press.
I’m teaching myself Premiere Pro so here’s Mayweather vs. McGregor in 30 seconds
Respect to Conor for getting in there.
I swear I’m not just shitting on him. It’s just fun source material to learn editing with pic.twitter.com/aDB9nvnQ7w
— Patrick St-Pierre (@patrickallsyms) April 22, 2023
He’s highly regarded as one of the greatest defensive boxers of all time and, in the eyes of some, the best to ever do it. We can’t blame Floyd and his team for taking the bag whenever the bag is presented, but still, the capitalization on his popularity to earn massive paydays without a full training camp or record on the line won’t last forever, will it?
Perhaps it will; because the scheduled bout with Gotti III on June 11 at the FLA Live Arena will be Mayweather’s seventh exhibition. The circus show of bullying inexperienced boxers is almost the perfect life for the Money Team, who’re taking similar paydays as Floyd did during his professional career but against a level of competition that’s unmatchable.
Mayweather and Gotti recently had their first face-off, and a notable size difference certainly provides more intrigue.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER STARES DOWN JOHN GOTTI III AT FIRST FACE OFF & SIZE DIFFERENCE IS NOTICEABLE, #boxing #boxingmatch #boxingnews pic.twitter.com/G0V0jcR3rF
— Syéd Sâlmän (@Salmantheboxing) April 28, 2023
However, let’s not forget the size difference between Floyd and Logan Paul – don’t be deceived. It’s hard to believe that TMT cares about weight or height when the opponents selected aren’t even close to the boxing skill level of Money Mayweather. Take his previous exhibition opponents, for example:
- Tenshin Nasukawa (2018) – A young and inexperienced kickboxer that had never competed in a boxing bout.
- Logan Paul (2021) – A social media star with a handful of year’s boxing experience.
- Don Moore (2022) – Floyd’s former 43-year-old sparring partner who never reached the big leagues.
- Mikuru Asakura (2022) – An MMA fighter with zero pro-boxing bouts on his record.
- Oladeji Olatunji (Deji) (2022) – A YouTuber with minimal boxing experience.
- Aaron Chambers (2023) – Reality TV star and wannabe MMA fighter.
Known as The Heist exhibition tour, boxing news and rumors saw Floyd post his plans for 2023 earlier in March. He’s expected to compete in five exhibition bouts in five countries, and if we include the dismantling of Aaron Chambers in London at the beginning of 2023, fans could be gifted with six Mayweather fights this year. On that note, Floyd doesn’t seem bothered whether he fights or not; the bag is secured.
“And if any of these exhibitions don’t happen, I still get paid. I’m the most active hustler in boxing; my money is guaranteed.”
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But Dave, What’s a Boxing Exhibition?
For the uninformed, I know you’re thinking, “What’s an exhibition bout“. Well, to give you a rough idea, let’s look at the unified rules utilized for the Mayweather vs Paul exhibition.
Florida Boxing Commission Exhibition Bout Rules:
- No judges.
- No official winner.
- Knockouts are legal.
- KO decided at the referee’s discretion.
- No headgear.
- 12oz gloves.
- Eight 3-minute rounds.
Alternative commissions may alter them slightly, but the premise of these aforementioned rules will be in place for the upcoming Mayweather vs Gotti exhibition. You should remember this when betting sports because the contest will be declared a draw if the fight ends without a knockout. We witnessed this outcome during the Mayweather/Paul bout as the exhibition rules don’t just affect the result, but online gambling enthusiasts too.
Mayweather said he had “fun” tonight vs. Logan Paul 🍿
(via @ShowtimeBoxing)pic.twitter.com/iqVtvRNE81
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 7, 2021
Furthermore, the referee dictates when the fight should be stopped, which doesn’t necessarily involve a knockout or a knockdown. We watched this play out during Mayweather’s previous contest with the brother of KSI, Deji. Unanswered strikes resulted in the referee stepping in, which, subsequently, is the best rule involving these exhibitions because an undefeated multi-time world champion like Money Mayweather could seriously damage some of these clout chasers.
This man Mayweather is just toying with Deji and dancing around the ring pic.twitter.com/pyTTXThsr2
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 13, 2022
There are fewer rounds than a professional boxing bout, no judges, the gloves are 2oz. heavier, and no judges are involved. While some of the rules are nonsensical, most are respectable because the added protection allows inexperienced boxers to compete against legitimate competition.
In conclusion, Gotti at least owns the fighting experience. He’s 5-1 in MMA and holds a 2-0 boxing record with one knockout. He’s significantly bigger than Floyd and certainly has the chance to walk away claiming a draw.
Logan Paul bragged about going the distance with Mayweather, but let’s keep it real, if you own a huge size advantage but minimal experience, going the distance is probably the best achievement possible when competing against Money Mayweather.
I’m not particularly excited or even care much for exhibition bouts. I’m unsure if it’ll be healthy for the sport of professional boxing in the long run, but who am I to hate on two men wanting to beat each other up for money?
I’m out Deuces.
