New York, NY – In a thrilling encounter that set the stage for one of the most awaited boxing matches of the year, Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr., widely acclaimed as the best boxer of all time, entered enemy territory in New York City to meet his opponent, John Gotti III, for an official press conference at the prestigious Hunt and Fish Club.
Accompanied by their respective managers, James McNair and John Gotti Jr., Mayweather and Gotti III discussed their upcoming rematch scheduled for Saturday, August 24, at the iconic Arena Ciudad de México in Mexico City. This highly anticipated event will be broadcast live on DAZN, promising an unforgettable night of boxing.
Following the intense press conference, the two legendary fighters took their rivalry to Times Square, engaging in a dramatic face-off beneath a massive billboard promoting their upcoming 8-round exhibition match.
Adding to the evening’s excitement, the co-main event features former WBC Welterweight Champion “Vicious” Victor Ortiz in an 8-round exhibition match against the formidable No. 5-ranked Argentine Rodrigo Damián Coria, a former WBO Latin Champion renowned for his resilience and unblemished knockout record.
The action continues with Mexico City’s own WBC Super Bantamweight Silver Champion David Picasso (28-0-1, 16 KOs) defending his title against the seasoned former world title challenger, Azat Hovhanisyan (21-4, 17 KOs), in a gripping 12-round bout.
For more information and the latest updates on the Mayweather vs. Gotti III PPV, visit DAZN’s official website.
Tickets for this monumental event start at just $60 USD ($1,120 MXN) and are on sale now at the Super Boletos website and the CDMX Arena Box Office. With a wide range of pricing options, this event is accessible to all boxing enthusiasts.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. Quotes:
“It’s always great to be able to fight where there is a lot of fight fans and we know that Mexico of boxing. Mexico has a history of great champions and the love of boxing in Mexico is truly unbelievable. I had so many chances to go to Mexico to visit and vacation but I’ve never had the chance to go to Mexico and actually fight. Now throughout my career as an amateur as well as a professional, I had the chance to face so many legendary and so many tough opponents from Mexico. The flipside, now, I’m going to Mexico where I truly believe that there’s going to be crazy fans and the outcome is going to be unbelievable. I look forward to going to Mexico and putting on a show.”
“It’s kind of good to just showcase my talent and give people a glimpse of what I was doing when I was at the height of my career. When I was at the pinnacle of my career. Just being able to travel the world and put on shows, put on exhibition bouts and still sell out arenas is a great feeling.”
“I truly believe that if I took a lot of abuse in the sport of boxing throughout my career, then I probably wouldn’t still be doing exhibitions or putting on boxing showcases, but I didn’t take no abuse in the sport of boxing so I feel like I can continue to go out there, have fun and put on shows throughout the world.”
“Last time I checked, I’ve beat more fighters that are in the Hall of Fame than any fighter in history and that’s truly a blessing. But [Gotti] is a tough competitor and I take my hat off to him. He wanna run it back, we can run it back twice, three times. It is what it is. I was born to be a fighter, I’m gonna die a fighter at the end of the day.”
“I take my hat off to guys like Muhammad Ali, because they paved the way for me to be where I’m at today, so I have to take my hat off to a legend like that. My career was a little bit different, you know, whereas when you look at Muhammad Ali’s career, when he was 36 [years old], he lost to Leon Spinks. When I was 36, I fought a young lion like Canelo. Leon Spinks, at that particular time, I think had six wins and one draw when he fought Muhammad Ali. When I fought Canelo, he was 23 years old and we had the same amount of fights, he had like 43 or 44 fights when we faced each other. So, Ali at 36 and Floyd Mayweather at 36, I think we were two different fighters because the first thing that I learned from my father was the less you get hit, the longer you’re able to last in the sport of boxing. Now when you guys look at Muhammad Ali’s career, when he was able to voice his opinion and stand up for the people, they hated him. Once he wasn’t able to speak anymore, he wasn’t able to walk or talk, then the world loved him.”
“If I was really taking abuse in the sport or I was getting battered then I don’t think I’d be doing exhibitions, but I was able to surround myself with smart individuals, that’s what makes me smart, because I want to surround myself with a smart team and I’ve made a lot of smart investments. So, am I doing this for the money? Absolutely not. I’m doing it because this is what I want to do.”
John Gotti III Quotes:
“Thank you everybody for coming out. I’m excited, you know. I think this is fate. I think the first time, how me and Floyd got together to fight was fate and I think this time is fate. We weren’t supposed to have this fight again and we’re here. Obviously, I’m excited, and why not? I get a second chance to go against one of the greatest fighters to ever lace up boxing gloves.”
“I’ve been motivated and training the whole entire year. Since the last fight ended, I’ve been in the gym. I’ve been dwelling on this fight and obsessing about this fight. Like my father said, I’m a dweller. You get me once; shame on you. You get me twice; shame on me.”
“It was a very unique experience for me the first fight. Floyd was my idol growing up, you know? It’s no secret, this guy was my guy.”
“Like Floyd said at the weigh-in, talk is cheap, and he’s absolutely right. Talk is cheap. So, I took that to heart, and may the best man win on August 24th. I’m ready for a war, and I mean that this time from the bottom of my heart. I’m ready for a fight.”
“I think me and Floyd were having fun. We were fighting and bantering back and forth. That’s nothing unique to boxing, that’s part of the game. We were clinching a little bit. I think I did pretty decent job of not clinching.”
“(Referee) Kenny Bayless had warned us the round before: ‘Enough with the clinching.’ But I believe there should have been at least one more firm warning… Floyd didn’t want the fight stopped, nor did I. People paid a lot of money to be there. We both were having fun and it’s unfortunate. But we get to do it again, and we’re going to settle this like men this time. That’s it. Me and him.”
“I’m one of only two fighters to ever get a chance to rematch Floyd again. I’m excited.”
“Anybody who knows anything about boxing knows what kind of heart [Mexican] fighters have and what kind of spirit the people have. So, I’m looking forward to bringing that spirit to Mexico. I gave my word. I’m going to fight as hard as I can, and hopefully, I can capture some of that energy, the Mexican fighting energy.”
“If you’re a competitor and you’re proud of who you are as a man, you’ll do the work that has to be done and you’ll bring your best on fight night. All that other fancy stuff, the sunglasses like I was wearing the last fight and the Louis Vuitton jackets, I threw that away. This is me. Shaved head, hat, and track suit. I’m ready to go to war. I’m ready to fight.”
“I want this to be remembered as a very entertaining fight. Floyd keeps repeating himself, saying ‘boxing showcase’ and ‘boxing exhibition.’ I’ve been watching Floyd my whole life, since I’m a kid. I’ve never once seen Floyd show up early to an event. I was early in Florida and he’s already there warming up. I’ve never seen Floyd prepare the way he has, and I’ve never seen Floyd throw as many punches in two minutes as he did in our fight. So obviously it was a fight. Obviously, he wanted to hurt me and knock me out. So, he’s not gonna snooker me again with this exhibition nonsense. He’s coming to knock me out again and I’m gonna try to knock him out this time, so that’s that.”
John Gotti Jr. Quotes:
“First off, thank you, and welcome everybody to beautiful New York. One thing I’ve observed of my son since he was a baby is that his toughest critic was always himself. If he didn’t get something right, he’d beat himself up over it, and my wife and I would always facilitate him basically not to beat himself up. To get away with it. But he would still continuously beat himself up if he didn’t get it right. If he didn’t take a test appropriately in school, he failed that particular test. One thing I’ve learned about John – on re-dos, he’s probably the best you’ve ever seen. I think Floyd made a mistake. He honored his word and gave John a rematch. He’s a man of his word. He’s an honorable man. But I think he made a big mistake. John takes re-tests better than anybody I’ve ever seen, and I think the fighter you’re going to see enter the ring on August 24th is gonna blow your minds. That’s what I believe. I believe he’s gonna shock the world and blow your minds.”
“I was adverse to John being a fighter. I’ve never wanted my son to pursue this career…”
“When your son, or daughter, asks you to honor their dream. To help them facilitate their dream, you do everything in your power to help them facilitate that. To achieve their goal, and I did. I stood behind John on what’s been now almost a ten-year career.”
“Floyd was kind enough to extend the invitation years back for John to make that jump over to boxing. We accepted that jump over. I think we put on a really good show last time, especially after the fight, which was not by design. But I really believe you’re in for a shocking surprise on August 24th. I believe the show is going to be extremely entertaining but I’m adverse to what Jose had said. It is not going to be eight rounds. It is going to end sooner. That I promise you.”
“We did a CompuBox on [the first] fight, ok. In Floyd Mayweather’s history, 50 professional fights, never in [the first] two minutes of any fight, has he thrown that many punches. So, exhibition, my ass. It was a fight. He came to win. He came to war. He came to knock the kid out. The kid didn’t get knocked out. I promise you; I promise you; this young man is gonna go to war, or (in jest) he can stay in in Mexico, he can’t come home. He’s gonna go to war.”