In Mexico City this week, Floyd Mayweather Jr. sat next to John Gotti III, the grandson of the New York crime boss, in a room full of boxing officials, dignitaries and inquiring minds.
“Why did you decide to come out from retirement?’’ a reporter asked.
Mayweather, 47, grinned.
“This is retirement for me,’’ he said.
This Floyd Mayweather Jr. Exhibition Tour – now on stop No. 8, a rematch vs. Gotti, is scheduled for eight rounds Saturday night. The billionaire boxer still is throwing punches and cashing sizable checks.
Though Mayweather ended his professional boxing career in 2017 with a 10th-round TKO of Conor McGregor, his gloves never had time to collect dust. Mayweather has fought in seven exhibitions, including one against Logan Paul, and proven to be as savvy a businessman as a boxer.
Case in point: John Gotti Jr. said it was Mayweather who reached out to them years ago after Mayweather learned the grandson of the late mobster was competing in MMA. Mayweather, who’s as skilled at selling a fight as winning one, offered Gotti III a chance to fight him in the boxing ring, according to Gotti Jr. Why?
In what sounded like an appeal to PPV customers, he said, “If youse know anything about the Gotti family, you know we’re fighting son bitches,’’ John Gotti Jr. said earlier this week. “We fight the government. We fight anybody that wants to fight us.’’
On rolls the Floyd Mayweather Jr. Exhibition Tour.
When is Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III fight?
The main card starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III fight is expected to begin at about midnight ET.
Where is Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III fight?
Mexico City
What time is Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III fight?
The Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III fight is expected to begin at about midnight ET.
How to watch Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III fight
DAZN. PPV is $49.99 (plus subscription).
Follow Josh Peter on social media @joshlpeter11
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III: Time, how to watch fight
