Shakur Stevenson leaks DM exchange with Floyd Mayweather after latter's controversial John Gotti III rematch

Shakur Stevenson recently shared his private conversation with Floyd Mayweather following Mayweather's rematch against John Gotti III. Stevenson hailed the boxing legend as the greatest ever to grace the squared circle while taking a dig at the latter's critics.

Mayweather squared off against Gotti III in an eight-round exhibition bout that took place this past Saturday at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City. Despite the seeming lack of competitive consequence, the rematch was much anticipated due to the nature of the animosity between the two.

In their first encounter in June 2023, Mayweather and Gotti III were both disqualified in the sixth round for using harsh language towards each other, which ultimately ended in a huge brawl inside the ring. Both men were under pressure to give the spectators a memorable show in the rematch.

Mayweather established the tone early on, landing precise strikes while effortlessly dodging Gotti's attempts. The latter attempted to get back into the fight later in the rounds, but the former champion maintained complete control, demonstrating his signature defensive skills and skillful counterattacking. Since it was an exhibition fight, there was no official scorekeeping or declaration of a winner.

Following the fight, boxing journalist Michael Benson took to X and posted a private conversation between Stevenson and Mayweather, which the 27-year-old shared on his Instagram stories. The WBC lightweight champion praised the 47-year-old, writing:

''Still the greatest I've ever seen!''

In response, Mayweather wrote:

''Thanks little TBE''

Stevenson captioned his story by writing:

''We gone get some money together one day fs, But he's the greatest to ever do it for sure. I appreciate this dude big time, Y'all hate em because y'all envy him. #ChasingGreatness''

As for Stevenson, he is set to defend his WBC lightweight title against Joe Cordina on Oct. 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This matchup will serve as the co-main event on the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol card.

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Floyd Mayweather responds to Julio Cesar Chavez's callout

Floyd Mayweather's victory over John Gotti III last weekend led the renowned Mexican champion Julio Cesar Chavez to challenge Mayweather to an exhibition bout.

During his in-ring interview, Mayweather responded by saying that it wouldn't be good for his reputation if the bout took place:

''He [Chavez] is older than me, if we gave a fight it would not be a good image for me, Julio Cesar Chavez paved the way for boxers like me, he is one of the best fighters in history. I love you Mexico". [H/t: Marca]