Keeping Personal Beef Aside, John Gotti III Describes “Surreal” Experience Fighting His Idol Floyd Mayweather Ahead of Highly Anticipated Rematch
If there was one word to describe the exhibition match between Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti III that took place last year, it would be chaos. Tension started building up from the get-go as the two fighters started trading blows inside the ring since the first bell. As expected, Floyd Mayweather was cruising through the rounds, toying with Gotti III, interspersing his showboating with stinging verbal insults. The situation came to a head when referee Kenny Bayless disqualified the 2-0 professional boxer, midway through round 6 for clinching Mayweather repeatedly. Gotti, angered by the decision, shoved the referee and charged at Mayweather, winging punches at him. Soon, the entourages of both camps rushed the squared circle and wreaked havoc.
Ever since the ill-famed fight, there has been a long-running beef that was quashed as soon as Mayweather accepted Gotti III’s request for a rematch on Aug. 24 in Mexico City. Interestingly, if you were a bystander at the fight with no knowledge of combat sports, you would never have believed that John Gotti III adored Floyd Mayweather since he was a child. In an interview with TMZ, the grandson of former mobster John Gotti revealed what it was like fighting his idol ‘Money Mayweather’ in June 2023.
Big occasion got to Gotti III!
In his candid confession, Gotti III revealed that he was caught “off-guard” during the momentous occasion of fighting the legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather. Ever since the New York-born native started his fighting career as a mixed martial artist, he never thought he would come face-to-face with the 50-0 fighter.
“As we soon got in the ring, you know I was like this is surreal. If you would have told me when I first started my mixed martial arts journey 11 years ago, I would be fighting Floyd Mayweather… I say you’re crazy” Gotti III revealed.
Gotti further stated that the entire experience felt like a “video game”, as Mayweather is someone who he looked up to since he was a child.“It’s a guy who I grew up you know idolizing as a fighter my whole life, you know I was a huge fan of Floyd my whole life uh so it was really surreal,” he said.
Starstruck by Floyd, he couldn’t let his hands go as he wanted to, and a “determined” Mayweather who came on the night intending to hurt him, got the upper hand.
However, the grandson of the former head of the Gambino crime family expects a different outcome in the rematch.
Gotti III here to win!
This time John will not let the big occasion of fighting Mayweather in the rematch ruin his composure. He stated that he has learned a lot from his last fight, and the “improvements” he has made since their last encounter will help him get the victory against the legendary undefeated fighter.
“I really do [believe I can win]. The improvements I made from last year up until now, as far as even mentally, I’m a whole new fighter,” Gotti asserted in his exclusive interview with TMZ. Notably, the undefeated retired professional fighter, Mayweather, has fought six exhibition matches thus far and won all of them comprehensively.
Additionally, he revealed that he knows “what to expect” from the rematch, and is “mentally prepared” for the boxing prowess that an elite fighter like Mayweather would bring.
Would the rematch be another cakewalk for Mayweather? Or, will Gotti III cause a major upset in the rematch? Let us know in the comment section below.
