‘They Don’t Deserve To Be In The Arena With Him’

Smith ignored the brawls that marred Mayweather’s latest exhibition bout against John Gotti III, instead focusing on the general quality of the opponents ‘Money’ is facing.

Stephen A. Smith is sick of watching Floyd Mayweather fight punks: ‘They don’t deserve it’

Stephen A. Smith is not a fan of Floyd Mayweather continuing his ‘bank heist’ series of exhibition matches against unworthy opponents.

Mayweather’s latest bout came against John Gotti III over the weekend, and the event descended into chaos after the referee waved off the exhibition in the sixth round (watch fight highlights here). Neither fighter was listening to his instructions, and things were getting ugly with endless trash talk, holding, and illegal punches. The moment the ref stopped the fight, Gotti stepped around him and went after Floyd, kicking off a brawl that took minutes to end.

Things didn’t stop there. Fans in the arena stormed the ring and the backstage area, kicking off numerous fights throughout the FLA Live Arena.

Smith didn’t have much to say about the brawls, but he did criticize “Money” for continuing to sully his name against lesser opponents.

“I know these exhibition matches are entertaining. I liked the one with Conor McGregor,” Smith said on ESPN. “Not so much Logan Paul. I just see some of these things and this is just my personal feeling: when you’re that great and you’re that elite, not just anyone deserves to be in the ring with you, even if you are retired. Even if it is for exhibition purposes.

“This is not a movie, this is not Rocky III where Rocky is going against Thunderbolt or Hulk Hogan. This is not that. And so for me, listen, a lot of people out there wish they could be on a basketball court with LeBron James. You don’t deserve it. You’re not him. You’re not on his level. He’s so elite, he’s so phenomenal, you don’t deserve to be in that arena with him unless you’ve earned it. So that’s just how I look at it, these exhibitions.”

“That little melee don’t matter to me,” Smith continued. “As far as I’m concerned it could potentially have been orchestrated. I don’t know. But I do know not just anyone should be allowed to be in the ring with Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. I just believe that.”

Mayweather doesn’t seem to have any plan to slow down on the exhibitions. His stated plan was to have five of them in 2023. The John Gotti III bout was his second of the year, after a February bout against Geordie Shore reality star Aaron Chalmers in the UK.

What do you think about Floyd Mayweather’s decision to continue his career with a series of freakshow exhibitions? Let us know in the comments, Maniacs!