Watch: Mass brawl erupts at exhibition fight between boxing great Floyd Mayweather, John Gotti

A bout between boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr and John Gotti III was supposed to be an exhibition match but it ended up being a mass brawl. The reason: a controversial decision by the referee.

With no pre-assigned judges for the boxing match at the FLA Live Arena in Florida, Mayweather and Gotti were scheduled to take part in eight rounds, each comprising two minutes. The encounter, however, came to a premature end after referee Kenny Bayliss stopped the fight in the sixth round. Bayliss’ decision did not go down well with Gotti who decided to launch an attack on Mayweather. Soon members from both teams entered the ring and started hitting each other.

The situation got worse when supporters of both Mayweather and Gotti in the crowd also started fighting among themselves. The police had to finally step in and clear the venue.

The exhibition match started off after a delay as Floyd Mayweather's security team had to disperse the crowd present at the 46-year-old’s corner. Mayweather began on a promising note. John Gotti III, grandson of the former New York crime boss John Gotti, did not come up with any noteworthy response in the first five rounds of the bout. Apart from their in-ring fight, the two competitors also got involved in trash-talking.

Sky Sports reported that both were heard using cuss words mid-rounds. Things got heated up during the sixth round, forcing match referee Kenny Bayliss to stop the fight. Bayliss had warned Gotti's side in between the fifth and sixth rounds that he would have to stop the match if they continued with their hostile approach.

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