Gotti III vs Mayweather, in case you missed it, ended in a massive brawl. The exhibition match ended in the sixth round, entourages from both sides stormed the ring, and if you ask John Gotti III, it’s all Floyd Mayweather’s fault. Gotti explained his side of the story in a recent appearance on The MMA Hour.
“The Gottis are public enemy No. 1, I guess forever. So they’re going to do everything they can to throw dirt on me.”
John Gotti III Rips Mayweather, Florida Athletic Commission Over Melee
Gotti elaborated, claiming that he was continually baited by Mayweather over the course of the fight, and referee Kenny Bayless failed to intervene.
“Early in the fight, Floyd was taunting my whole crowd and section heavy, saying what he had to say, and I said to Floyd in the fight, ‘It’s like that?’ and he made it very clear it’s like that.
The minute I started doing it back to Floyd, it became a problem. The minute I started taunting him back, cursing him back and engaging, all of a sudden it became a problem.
But early on, Kenny Bayless didn’t say two words to Floyd. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair. It is what it is, I’m not playing victim, we had fun, but there should have been fair regarding that.
Kenny Bayless came over to my corner and Floyd’s and warned us the round before and said, ‘You guys have to stop cursing at one another, otherwise, I’m going to call the fight.’
So the next round comes out and we pick up right back where we left off. Every time we’re close quarters, even when I’m covering up, I’m popping out of my shell and cursing at him, he’s cursing at me.
So the final exchange, I throw a four-punch combination, and I get in the clinch again, I get my forearm in his throat, and he does it back to me, and we start cursing again, and Kenny Bayless just waves the fight off. It’s unheard of.
I acted on emotion which, looking back on it, was stupid because people could have gotten hurt that had nothing to do with it. But I just went off my emotion, and I went after him.
I feel like they robbed me of my best rounds, to be honest. I was getting my second wind, I started to settle in a little bit, feeling good, and they called the fight. It didn’t make sense to me whatsoever. I was disappointed.”
Gotti believes the fight was rigged from the beginning. “That’s Floyd’s guy. They’re not going to make Floyd look bad at any cost, even if it’s a little bit. Of course he was protecting Floyd.”
