Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti III have some unfinished business. The two seized headlines worldwide when they clashed in Florida in June. But their bout ended abruptly, putting an unfortunate conclusion to their fight, and the fans were left displeased. The boxing gods and the promoters have smiled at fans and recently blessed them with a rematch.
‘Money’ surprised the fans when he announced the rematch with Gotti III on Friday. While the exact details of the fight are yet to be chalked out, the two will run it back during the Super Bowl weekend. The details of their first encounter might still be fresh in the fans’ minds. The referee, Kenny Bayless, had enough of the verbal jibes instead of punches thrown in the ring. He waved off the fight after the trash-talking reached a tipping point, and the subsequent scenes flooded the internet. Despite the curiosity surrounding the fight, the rematch talks never received traction. However, the critical question is whether the rematch and its hype are way past their shelf life.
The visuals of ‘TBE’ and Gotti III showdown descending into chaos broke the internet. While the similar scenes are hard to replicate, they dent the reputations of the American boxer. Fans crave to see him box and chant his name from the stands as he tears apart his opponent. Not him pulling shots after the fight has been called off.
In addition, the primary focus is to capitalize on the earlier buzz created by the off-ring shenanigans. It might be a disastrous PR tactic, as you can’t always top off the event with chaos. Gotti III’s previous comments also suggest the same.
“From what I understood, after the fight, it was the most Googled thing in the whole world… Floyd’s a businessman. Floyd wants to capitalize on that. He wants to make money,” Gotti III explained to Ariel Helwani.
But will the fans shell out money just to watch Mayweather dance around the ring and toy with his opponent? Will they buy the PPV event where the chances of a competitive fight are almost none? Will the fans prefer chaos and long stretches of inactivity or an exciting back-and-forth?
The night of chaos and the fight might fail to attract people
And the answer is no. Mayweather tends to play around with his opponent. Gotti III, too scared by the man he was squaring off, barely landed a punch in the earlier rounds. The enormous gap between the two can’t be bridged, and we don’t expect Gotti III to improve significantly to match the skills of a boxer with a 50-0 record.
The outcome is all but decided. Can you expect Gotti III to chip off Mayweather’s skin and hand him a black eye, as Deji did? The chances are still low. Besides, the only thing moving the needle for the rematch is not the clash of skills but the obscenities thrown in their encounters and the chaos in the square ring.
“It was kind of crazy. A lot of people on social media were saying this was fake, that it was scripted. Absolutely not true. You see, there were fights all around the arena. So, when something like that happens, it can’t be fake or rehearsed,” Mayweather clarified recently.
Chaos and the teams jumping in the ring to have a go at each other shouldn’t be associated with Mayweather. The legendary American boxer doesn’t need these antics to sell his fights and arenas. The fans need a glimpse of his former self, which is fleeting every time he fights.
Every time Mayweather steps into the ring, he tries to roll back the old times. However, it happens against obscure, feeble opponents with almost no boxing experience. Mayweather’s exhibition fights are nothing but his unwillingness to give up the idea of retiring.
