Floyd Mayweather's absurd exhibition retirement tour took arguably its strangest turn yet this weekend in Miami as he squared off with the grandson of notorious mob boss John Gotti.
The boxing legend has been travelling the world with non-competitive exhibition bouts since retiring from the sport in 2017, taking his talents to Japan, Dubai, London and Miami. The script hasn't changed much - he arrives in a city to face off with somebody his team have hand-selected as offering no threat, moves around and pockets millions.
However, his return to Miami was like no Mayweather show before, with the bout ending controversially in the sixth round with Gotti disqualified by referee Kenny Bayliss. The New Yorker was enraged by the seemingly pointless decision and decided to keep punching at his opponent long after the fight had been stopped.
American reality TV station Zeus Network ran the show; their second boxing outing after a wild London exhibition between Mayweather and Geordie Shore's Aaron Chalmers. And it was just what they would have ordered as Gotti's team and Mayweather's both rammed the ring, with dozens of bodies throwing punches during a heated melee.
Ultimately, the brawl got ugly quickly as the overly crowded floor descended into chaos, with teammates and fans of both fighters getting into it at ringside. Backstage, it was an even gnarlier situation, with Gotti's infamous father being ushered to the back amid a heaving situation that promised to get nastier than it already was.
This reporter even managed to lose a DSLR camera in the carnage and was lucky to leave without a trespassing charge as belligerent cops insisted that everyone be evacuated, including members of the press. Tasers could be heard but not seen as people rushed towards the exit, with cops resorting to swear words and threats of handcuffs in order to empty the venue.
It was an unsavoury end to a relatively fun night of action that included a series of silly exhibitions and musical performances including Blueface and Chrisean Rock.
Prior to the event, there had only really been one occasion where things were different; a 2021 showdown with YouTube star Logan Paul that drew over a million buys on Showtime pay-per-view and was billed as something of a competitive event. Worldwide media covered the show, and the pair heavily promoted what ended up being a successful show.
However, when I arrived in Miami for the second day of fight week festivities, I was expecting something of a lowkey affair. Mayweather Promotions and his usual public relations team of Swanson Communications weren't involved in handling the press, instead handing off to a local agency meaning that word had been hard to come by for travelling media.
Indeed, as I entered an empty room that was still being put together at 11.30am for an open workout session that was due to begin half an hour earlier, I feared the worst. The palatial Fontainebleau hotel in Miami was home for the entire week's activities, with superstars such as Larry Holmes and Evander Holyfield showing their faces throughout a searing weekend on South Beach.
The room never really filled up, with prospects warming up for essentially nobody but their opponents and other teams with a handful of small media outlets. By around 4pm, Gotti entered the ring for his workout flanked by his infamous crime boss father and a team including family and trainers.
He hit pads for a few minutes, looking considerably slower than his opponent and overall bored with the entire experience. He didn't even seem particularly confident, telling me at ringside that he would "do his best" to land the stoppage in an awkward exchange after having previously claimed it was "kill or be killed".
And after an hour's wait following Gotti's workout, which included a ringside chat with former heavyweight champion Holmes and a few words with the infamous Jarrell Miller, Mayweather made his appearance. Seemingly out of nowhere, a relatively decent crowd numbering likely just under 100 if you exclude his hefty entourage descended upon the Sparkle ballroom.
From there, it was a show the likes of which boxing fans rarely see. Mayweather underwent an intensive half-hour-long workout, going far above and beyond the standard pre-fight fare of pay-per-view main event stars with a series of exercises, even refusing to take breaks at his coach's request.
There was no opportunity for either man to seriously take questions from the media at any point throughout the weekend. And Mayweather was not interested in even acknowledging any attempts to grab a quote as he walked to a fan meet-and-greet, where punters had been asked to stump up $500 for a photo opportunity.
And with playoffs underway in the NBA and NHL, I ended up elsewhere entirely for my Friday night in the Sunshine State; the Casino Miami. Don King was putting on his annual outlandish showcase at the run-down gambling hall, and while Adrien Broner's return drew a lot more fans than last year's Daniel Dubois vs Trevor Bryan showdown, it was a strange sight.
The last time Broner fought in front of fans was a 2019 meeting with the legendary Manny Pacquiao. The pair packed out the MGM Grand on that night - a far cry from where he would make his long-awaited comeback under the guidance of controversial veteran promoter King.
He was unable to stop Bill Hutchinson, a part-time boxer who works as a lawyer in his day-to-day life, but showed glimpses of his old brilliance before rehashing his old "can man" routine in the post-fight interview. King was his usual self after the bout, graciously gifting soundbites about Eddie Hearn that I could take back to my editors as well as rambling about the war in Ukraine.
Mayweather was clearly willing to do his standard bare minimum if Gotti played ball, which he did until one heated moment at the weigh-ins caused a notable shift. The boxer was giving his well-rehearsed pre-fight speech about "smart investments", his wins over Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez and how he somehow made it through 20 years as a world champion with all his faculties.
But one joke about how he had already fought a Gotti, or at least Arturo Gatti, offended his rival to the point that he interrupted the speech, much to the joy of his gathered crowd. Mayweather was visibly irritated by the verbal jab and the crowd's jeers and shifted up his usual speech to warn those in attendance that the bout wouldn't be going the distance.
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The boxing legend also quipped that they should keep that same energy at the post-fight press conference, but it never made it that far. In fact, it seems that Mayweather was indeed taking the fight seriously, with his young prospects Kamari Burnside and J'Hon Ingram informing me that they had been called into action for sporadic midnight training sessions at multiple points in the buildup.
"Training with Floyd has definitely pushed me," Burnside said ahead of the bout. "He's teaching me the right way to train and become the best. He's a hard-working man, that's how he made it and he's the best ever." Ingram then added: "He's always ready to work. Just the other day he texted us what was it? 1.30, two in the morning to come and go for a pretty serious run. He likes to help guide and help younger fighters, but also show us the right way to train."
At the end of the day, Gotti III declared that Mayweather is now an "enemy for life", and it remains to be seen just how much of a disaster the event really was. Zeus Network prides itself on shows like "Baddies", with the cast joining Chrisean Rock on stage amid her performance with on-and-off boyfriend Blueface, with whom she has had a tumultuous relationship.
And for a reality TV producer, Sunday night's footage will have been solid gold. Who knows? When the in-ring action is forgotten and the event's legacy is cemented as being shrouded in controversy, there may even be an appetite for a sequel to Mayweather vs Gotti III.
