The Florida Athletic Commission has suspended John Gotti III for kicking off a brawl following his exhibition match with Floyd Mayweather over the weekend.
The Gotti vs Mayweather fight was a big mess from the beginning, with the bout start getting delayed because the ring area was too crowded with random entourage members. As the fight went on, the referee got more and more frustrated as both fighters ignored his commands. He waved things off in the sixth round after Gotti refused to stop holding Mayweather (watch all the highlights and lowlights here).
And that’s when the chaos kicked off.
Me and @missnatalienunn ringside for #MayweatherGotti !!!! Entire brawl broke out!!!! pic.twitter.com/CzCjfGDJxi
— Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) June 12, 2023
Gotti stormed around the referee to keep fighting Mayweather, who defended himself. The ring filled with people and a full scale brawl broke out. Even after both fighters left the ring, random fights in the crowd continued. More scrums erupted backstage, and the entire arena was taken over by unruly fans.
The Florida commission took swift action after the fracas.
“The DBPR Florida Athletic Commission took immediate action the evening of Sunday, June 11, and suspended John Gotti III for six months,” the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation wrote in a statement to MMA Fighting.
Floyd Mayweather will receive no punishment for the incident, which seems fair. “Money” may have been responsible for the event and questionable matchmaking, but not Gotti’s behavior after the referee waved off the fight.
As they say: if you’re at a circus, don’t be surprised if clowns show up.