The Floyd Mayweather vs John Gotti III rematch on August 24 in Mexico City was disappointing. As expected, Mayweather reigned supreme, overwhelming Gotti with his boxing prowess after the very first bell. Aside from Mayweather’s acutely technical display, the fight lacked high-voltage action as it registered zero knockdowns. The bout’s most exciting moment came in the second round after the referee, Hector Afu warned Mayweather for a debatable behind-the-head blow on Gotti. This led to a timeout and a heated exchange between Mayweather and Afu, with Mayweather, clearly frustrated by the decision, repeatedly telling the referee to step aside.

Moreover, Gotti was also stopped from engaging with Mayweather, which led to a member of Gotti’s team abruptly entering the ring. There was too much chaos inside the ring, which ultimately prompted the referee to be replaced with another official for the rest of the match. Observing the proceedings in the recently concluded rematch was renowned boxing journalist and insider, Gareth A Davies.

In an interview with Boxing Social, he noted that the referee-swap mid-fight summed up Mayweather’s influence in the boxing scene. “Yeah, I mean if you’re able to choose to change the referee in your own fight you are definitely one of the most powerful men in boxing,” Davies stated.

At the same time, Davies highlighted that the referee’s decision to pull up Mayweather for a supposedly illegal shot on the back of the head was wrong. “I thought the referee was wrong by the way. That’s the point no one I think’s picked up on. It was a right hook. It wasn’t punching to the back of the head. It was a genuine right hook thrown from a distance and clearly Mayweather was very annoyed,” Davis noted.

Additionally, he pointed out that apart from the drama pertaining to the swapping of the referee, the action inside the ring wasn’t exciting at all. “Yeah, it was just drama… If it hadn’t been for the referee, it wouldn’t have lived up to the billing, to be honest,” Davies said bluntly.

On the other hand, contradictory to Davies’ perspective on the swap, Ryan Garcia‘s father, Henry Garcia, felt that the referee swap in the fight was unwarranted.

Called ‘Money’ Mayweather for a reason

What’s the point of having money, if you can’t buy influence? Such was the point of view Henry Garcia was coming from when he reacted to up-close footage of Mayweather firing the referee during the exhibition fight. “When you don’t have the way, money will take you the rest of the way,” Garcia commented on DAZN Boxing’s clip of the fiasco. In response, another user argued with Garcia, pointing out that Floyd had earned his titles and influence through decades of hard work.

Henry agreed with the fan’s opinion but highlighted that the bout wasn’t serious enough to get a referee replaced mid-fight. “True but when you have to take out a referee out because your not happy, it doesn’t matter how many people you beat or belts won . Just move on and continue the fight , it was just an exhibition . Not even good one,” he said. According to Henry Garcia, Floyd was better off pulling his financial might for more pressing matters than an insignificant exhibition fight.

Do you think Floyd was justified in his actions during the John Gotti III rematch? Let us know in the comment section below.