Gotti vs. Mayweather gained traction for all the wrong reasons, but that may not stop it from being run back a second time this fall.
The Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti fight was a complete debacle, but in the end it generated more attention than any of Mayweather’s other post-retirement exhibition fights. And that means there’s a good chance we’ll see Mayweather and Gotti back in the ring again later this year.
After a fight filled with endless fouls and foul language, referee Kenny Bayless waved things off in the sixth round. Gotti refused to stand down and charged Mayweather, kicking off a brawl that spread through the FLA Live Arena in Florida. Videos of fist fights in the ring, around the arena, and backstage went viral. And now Gotti says all that bad publicity has Mayweather interested in a rematch.
“We’re in talks right now to do something, so we’ll see where it goes,” Gotti said on the latest episode of The MMA Hour. “From what I understand, after the fight, it was the most Googled thing in the whole world. So Floyd’s a businessman, Floyd wants to capitalize on that, and he wants to make money. If they want to do it again, I’m here. And I promise you this time I’m gonna come out guns blazing as soon as that bell rings. We’re going to fight, now.”
“My confidence is through the roof on it happening,” Gotti continued. “He wants to do it. We’re in talks right now, and hopefully the date gets locked in pretty soon. [Looking at] October. You are correct, it won’t be in Florida.”
Following the fight, Gotti was suspended for six months by the Florida State Boxing Commission. That means a rematch wouldn’t be able to happen anywhere in the U.S. until mid-December. Unless the suspension gets shortened, which Gotti believes should be easy to arrange.
“I’m confident [the suspension] is gonna get reduced, my team is on it right now to get that lifted,” he said. “I don’t know how it works, if I’m suspended in Florida or I’m suspended everywhere.”
Considering how quickly all other Mayweather exhibitions have disappeared down the memory hole two seconds after they end, we’re not surprised there’s talk of a rematch here. But Gotti clearly has no idea how commissions operate, and how unlikely it is that his suspension will be shortened. If anything, he’s going to have an extremely hard time renewing his boxing license anywhere after that incident. Any commission worth their salt will look at the way the first fight went and say there’s no way in hell they’ll sanction it.