As far back as he can remember, John Gotti III always wanted to be a relevant fighter.
The multi-combat sports athlete now has a chance to put his name on the map for reasons other than his famous bloodlines. Gotti is the next opponent on the exhibition tour of Floyd Mayweather, Jr., the Hall of Fame former five-division champ and the sport’s all-time box-office king whom the Long Island native admired long before heading down a path to become a boxer.
“I’ve been following him since I was eight years old,” Gotti told the assembled media during a press conference at The Gabriel Miami Downtown Hotel in Miami to formally announce their upcoming event. “This was my idol. This was a guy I did school projects on. It was a guy I looked up to. The fact that I’m in a position to stand across the ring from Floyd is a tremendous honor.
“But make no mistake, June 11 I’m bringing bad intentions to that man. I don’t care if it’s an exhibition or not. You signed to fight me, there’s no quarter. It’s kill or be killed.”
Their scheduled eight-round exhibition contest will headline a June 11 Zeus Network Pay-Per-View event from FLA Live Arena, home to the NHL’s Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Florida.
Gotti was one month shy of his sixth birthday when Mayweather (50-0, 27KOs) won his first major title in October 1998. It was more into his early teen years when Gotti bought all the way into the brilliance of Mayweather following his systematic dismantling of Arturo Gatti in June 2005 to become a three-division champ.
“This was someone who was legitimately my hero in boxing growing up,” noted Gotti, who has long sought to live a cleaner, safer lifestyle than experienced by his father and former reputed mob boss, John A. Gotti and notorious grandfather John Gotti. “I’m not just saying that because I’m here. I did a school project on Floyd. I watched every one of his fights since the Arturo Gatti fight on.
“When I seen that fight, I always said I never seen anyone throw combinations with the intent, speed and the accuracy of that man. I was captivated from that night on. I’ve been Team Mayweather since I was eight, nine years old. But when it’s time to get to business, we’re gonna get to business. We’re gonna fight.”
Gotti (2-0, 1KO) ventured into mixed martial arts, where he holds a 5-1 record. His desire to enter boxing first stemmed from a prior conversation between Mayweather’s team and John A. Gotti more than two years ago. The fight never materialized but the younger Gotti began the transition from MMA to boxing to be ready for the moment whenever it arrived.
From there came his boxing pro debut last October in Huntington, less than 20 minutes from his hometown in the Oyster Bay section of Long Island, New York. Gotti went the distance in a four-round, unanimous decision victory before he earned a first-round knockout on January 21 at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Even in the exhibition world, facing the likes of Mayweather is on an entirely different level. Another layer comes with the youngest Gotti sharing the ring with a lifelong sports hero.
“It’s going to be a pinch-me moment for sure,” admitted Gotti. “But… I established my own identity in mixed martial arts and now boxing. I’m not here to play. I’m all business. I’m here to fight. That’s it.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox