Floyd Mayweather Robs Boxing Fans Again With Another Farcical Exhibition

It is generally accepted that even great marketing can’t sell a bad product, which goes to show just what a genius-level marketer Floyd Mayweather Jr really is.

Seven years after retiring and nine years since his last proper bout (we’re not counting the spectacle against Conor McGregor in 2019), 47-year-old Mayweather is still making serious bank in the ring and charging fans almost $50 for the pleasure to watch.

For his eighth exhibition, Mayweather opted for a rematch with John Gotti III, a low-level MMA fighter and part-time boxer who happens to be the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti.

Their first bout, in April last year, descended into chaos when referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight in the sixth round after nothing but one-way traffic. Gotti decided to ignore the referee and started throwing bombs, prompting both teams to climb through the ropes and engage in a brawl.

The rematch, therefore, sold itself – at least to a degree. There might have been history between Mayweather and Gotti but it was never going to get settled in the traditional boxing sense when two relatively evenly-matched fighters duel it out.

In any other scenario, Gotti would have no business sharing a ring with Mayweather – even a 47-year-old version of the all-time great – but in this unique world of modern exhibition boxing, he got a second opportunity to do so on Saturday in Mexico City.

And predictably, the fight went the way everyone expected; that is to say, much like the first as Mayweather toyed with his novice opponent and cruised during each of the eight two-minute rounds. He would have been announced the winner had scoring been in effect.

There was one bizarre moment in the second round when Mayweather demanded a change of referees after not taking kindly to a warning for landing a shot on the back of Gotti’s head. But that was as interesting as it got.

For this total non-event of an exhibition, Mayweather will earn between $20 million and $25 million – around the same Anthony Joshua, then the unified heavyweight champion of the world, earned to fight Andy Ruiz in 2019. Gotti, on the other hand, made $5 million, which is a million more than what Devin Haney pocketed for fighting Vasiliy Lomachenko last year.

It begs the question: how much longer can Mayweather keep getting away with it? This wasn’t just a one-off sub-standard event but the latest in a string of dull, pointless exhibitions involving the former multi-weight world champion.

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And what is the market? Who is paying $50 to watch a near-50-year-old former boxer dance around the ring against below-average opponents in fights with no stakes, and sometimes, no scoring?

Dedicated boxing fans can’t be the target when there are so many proper big-time fights taking place every few weeks. It can’t be the YouTube crowd – except for when he fought Logan Paul – because Mayweather isn’t an internet personality in the purest sense. Wherever the demand was coming from, there was enough for the American to line his deep pockets further.

The overriding positive of such shows is the platform Mayweather can give the undercard fighters, some of whom are represented by his promotions company. In that regard, it was another positive performance on a big platform for the exciting 18-year-old prospect Curmel Moton, who demolished opponent Victor Vasquez in 55 seconds.

To answer the earlier question, Mayweather will keep getting away with it so long as the money makes sense. The American turned making money into an art form during the height of his professional career, earning hundreds of millions of dollars despite most of his peak fights lacking in drama or excitement.

There will come a time soon when Mayweather will hang up his exhibition gloves, but he will surely negotiate his way to another couple of big paydays. After the two farcical events against Gotti, that time can’t come soon enough.