The crowd at Arena CDMX in Mexico City was far from pleased as Floyd Mayweather took on John Gotti III in a rematch exhibition fight on August 24. The fans who had bought tickets expecting a thrilling, action-packed encounter were left disappointed. There was a lot of anticipation leading up to the fight, fueled by the ongoing feud between the Gotti and Mayweather camps, which began after Gotti was disqualified in their first matchup. That initial fight ended with a chaotic, full-scale brawl involving both camps in the ring. Yet, the rematch lacked a dramatic conclusion to settle the bitter rivalry.
From the opening bell, Mayweather dominated the fight, landing precise shots on Gotti round after round. It was a display of technical prowess from Mayweather, but he avoided engaging in any close-quarters exchanges. Gotti, on the other hand, barely mounted any offense and spent most of the fight absorbing blows. The fight ended without any knockdowns, which left many Mexican fans feeling frustrated.
The only moment that might have made the highlight reel came in the second round. After the referee, Hector Afu, warned Mayweather for a questionable blow to the back of Gotti’s head, a lengthy timeout followed. During this break, Mayweather expressed his displeasure with the referee’s decision, demanding that the fight resume. Meanwhile, Gotti was also restrained from engaging Mayweather. Eventually, the referee was replaced, and the fight continued under new officiation. In response, DAZN Boxing posed a question to fans on X: “Would you watch another @FloydMayweather exhibition bout?”
The reaction in the comments was overwhelmingly negative, reflecting the dissatisfaction of many fans who had attended the event in Mexico City.
One commenter bluntly responded with, “Absolutely not!” and suggested that Mayweather should stop staging exhibition fights, comparing his recent performance to a WWE spectacle. “No way! That was WWE-type stuff! Switching refs in the middle of the fight? He had Mexico straight-up booing him. And you know Mexico was drinking that night. Never watched, never will. They need to stop.”
Another fan noted that Mayweather’s fights have always been dull, even during his prime. “What value is there? Honestly, he’s old, and even when he was younger, he wasn’t exciting to watch—he only stayed relevant because of his mouth. Plus, there are no judges scoring his exhibitions.”
One fan admitted they hadn’t watched a Mayweather fight since his bout against Andre Berto in 2015, saying they only caught that match at a bar to avoid the hefty pay-per-view fee. “I haven’t watched a Mayweather fight since Berto, and I watched that at a bar, so I only had to pay a cover charge.”
Another claimed Mayweather’s exhibitions were rigged, stating, “I don’t watch anymore, they’re all staged.”
However, not everyone shared this sentiment. One fan expressed interest in watching Mayweather fight, as long as they didn’t have to pay. “I’ll watch as many Floyd exhibitions as he wants to do… why not? Not paying for it, but I’ll watch, sure.”
To date, Mayweather has fought in seven exhibition bouts and has easily dominated all of them. But are you excited to see ‘TBE’ in the ring for another exhibition match? Let us know in the comments below.
