"Is this boxing or WWE?" - Fans baffled as Floyd Mayweather fires referee mid-fight for illegal shot call

The Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III matchup just wrapped up and featured, of all things, a referee swap following a questionable moment in round two. Gotti complained about a back-of-the-head shot or 'rabbit punch,' as it is known in boxing, but there was no such blow in that instance.

Instead, it was a long hook from Mayweather that wrapped around Gotti's head. Nevertheless, the referee heeded Gotti's complaint, pausing the action to offer a moment of reprieve. This sparked a bizarre scene, with Mayweather and Gotti jawing back and forth from their respective corners.

Check out the moment in Floyd Mayweather vs. John Gotti III that led to the referee swap:

Fears of the pair repeating the brawl from their first bout quickly died down as Mayweather had the referee replaced by a second official. Naturally, fans had a field day with the proceedings of the bout. One fan joked that the bout resembled WWE instead of boxing.

"Is this boxing or WWE?"

Meanwhile, another fan lambasted Gotti for his approach to the bout.

"Gotti III is a cry baby and scared to engage. Mayweather is trying to make this gimmick fight entertaining but his opponent is crying like a spoiled trust fund baby."

Others, though, found it shocking that fans paid to watch the bout.

"People paid to watch this....Circus"

Some even took it a step further, lamenting the state of boxing.

"If this is how you guys wanna turn boxing into it's officially gone a joke"

A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:

Fan reactions to Floyd Mayweather's referee swap

In the end, the matchup proved relatively meaningless for both men, at least competitively. As it was an exhibition bout, no official winner was declared, despite Mayweather's dominance of Gotti for most of it. His 50-0 record remains intact, while Gotti's 2-0 record is similarly unblemished.