Floyd Mayweather forced a change in referee midway through a round in his latest exhibition bout last night.
The boxing icon rematched John Gotti III in Mexico City after their initial meeting in June of last year ended in chaos. He dominated proceedings and was believed by fans to be the unofficial winner, but there were no official scorecards due to the bout being an exhibition.
It was the latest stop on the Mayweather world tour that has taken him to Japan, London, Miami and Dubai. And he exerted his power in comical fashion midway through the second round when he took issue with a referee’s call.
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Floyd Mayweather dominates John Gotti III as pair settle feud in exhibition fight
Floyd Mayweather‘s last meeting with John Gotti III resulted in a farcical disqualification that led to widespread riots across the FLA Live Arena in Florida last summer. After being stopped in the sixth round for excessive holding, Gotti refused to cease fighting and threw further punches at his rival.
This led to a mass influx of teammates on both sides entering the ring, with fights spilling out into all parts of the crowd. It was enough to build interest in a rematch between the pair, which took place last night in Mexico.
Mayweather looked a shell of his former self as he tipped the scales just over 160lb, and appeared to be throwing without putting his full force behind his punches. However, he was still far better than MMA fighter Gotti, who has boxed just twice as a professional.
Even though the New Yorker, whose father and grandfather are John Gotti Jr and Sr from the infamous Gambino crime family, had a 20lb+ advantage, he was unable to land any major power shots. And Mayweather ultimately coasted to the final bell, with no winner declared.
Floyd Mayweather fires referee during a round in John Gotti III rematch
The highlight of the action was a bizarre moment in the second round when Mayweather was penalised by referee Hector Afu of Panama for a shot that he deemed to be behind the head. The boxer was outraged by the call, leading to a brief exchange between the two in the ring.
Mayweather kicked up a fuss, and demanded that there be a change of officials, likely reliving the controversy of last year in his mind. And after Afu was irked by the former world champion’s protests, Mexican official Alfredo Uruzquieta was drafted in instead.
Fans on social media immediately noted the bizarre situation, with one writing: “Mayweather really fired the ref mid-fight. He is made of money.” It was also noted by the page MVP Updates that Afu was no stranger to controversy in previous fights.
The Panamanian official deducted a point each from both Tommy Fury and Jake Paul at different points of their crossover boxing fight in February of last year. His officiating on that night was called into question as the Brit won a split decision after being dropped late in an otherwise dominant performance.
Floyd Mayweather appears to turn down Julio Cesar Chavez exhibition offer
After the final bell last night, Mayweather was approached by fellow legend of the sport Julio Cesar Chavez. The Mexican icon turned 62 last month, but has still been competing in exhibitions and appeared keen on a super-fight with the American.
“He’s older now and if I do an exhibition with him, it’s not going to look good on me,” Mayweather told fans in the arena after facing off with Chavez.
“He paved the way for me and he does so much for the sport of boxing and for all the young Mexican fighters after him. This is one of the guys who paved the way, he’s one of the best fighters of all time.”
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