John Gotti III’s first exhibition match against the legendary boxer Floyd Mayweather ended in a disqualification for the former. It wasn’t a result he was willing to accept. “Punk b****, Floyd Mayweather, you my enemy for life. Gotti III. Bum never put me down or stopped me it was a DQ for no reason,” Gotti wrote on his Instagram story following his DQ loss to Mayweather. For the uninitiated, referee Kevin Bayless disqualified Gotti III in round 6 for clinching Mayweather a lot and disregarding other rules of the exhibition fight. Now, the grandson of the late John Gotti, former boss of New York’s Gambino Crime Family, wants to settle the beef once and for all with his “enemy for life” inside the ring. Gotti’s wish has been granted as both fighters will run it back again on August 24, at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City.

The 2-0 professional fighter admitted that he was caught “off-guard” by the big occasion of fighting his childhood idol Floyd Mayweather. But this time, he is ready for the challenge that Floyd will bring into the ring. What’s more, Gotti III claims he is a much-improved fighter from the last time he traded punches with Floyd inside the ring. And helping him in this endeavor is Derek Panza, the boxing trainer from New York. On that note, let’s do a deep dive into Derek Panza, who he is and how is he helping John Gotti III prepare for one of the greatest of all time.

Who is Derek Panza? Early life and boxing record

Panza was born in Queens, New York. From a very early age, Derek Panza developed an interest in combat sports. From the age of eight, he started training in Shotokan Karate. His commitment and dedication to the sport earned him a black belt at the young age of fourteen. Encouraged by his trainers, Panza participated in various national and international karate tournaments and won many of them. 

A the age of twenty-one, Panza made a switch in his vocation. He transitioned from an accolade-filled career in karate to trying his luck in boxing and kickboxing. Panza made his professional debut in boxing in 1996 and has a spotless boxing record of 7-0. The heavyweight boxer won four of his seven fights via knockout. Compared to his kickboxing career, he had a very short stint in boxing. Nonetheless, the experience was valuable enough for him to benefit his coaching career later on in his life.

Coming to his kickboxing career, Panza proved to be one of the most elite strikers in combat sports. He has a 22-1-0 record and would go on to become the ISKA world heavyweight champion. However, an in-depth exploration of Panza’s achievements in combat sports is needed.

Achievements in Kickboxing, Karate, and MMA

In his highly successful karate career, Panza was ranked the number one heavyweight by the Professional Karate League (PKL) and number 2 by the North American Sport Karate Association (NASKA). He came first in kumite at the National Junior Karate Championships. Competing in men’s over 18 black belt fighting division, he won many national and international karate championships.

Moving over to his kickboxing career, Panza won his first World Kickboxing Championship by knocking out UFC Legend Patrick Smith. Interestingly, he also holds the record of knocking out his opponent within one minute during his professional debut. He also participated in World Combat League (WCL), a team-based kickboxing promotion produced by America’s foremost action hero and martial artist Chuck Norris. Now, he is using all the skills he learned during his long fighting career, mentoring students who harbor ambitions of becoming elite combat sports practitioners.

Derek Panza’s coaching career

Derek currently trains fighters at Panza MMA, located inside the world champion powerlifter and bodybuilder Bev Francis’ Powerhouse Gym. He has helped many kickboxers like Tim Lane and IFL Champion Deividas Taurosevičius. Furthermore, he trained countless professional fighters for their matches in UFC and Pride Fighting Championships.

Additionally, Panza was a contributor to a monthly column known as the “Puncher’s Corner” in Full Contact Fighter Magazine for six years. An ardent student of the sport, he used to write instructional on fighting strategies and training methods. Derek also has a YouTube channel called Muscle and Fitness, where the public at large can access footage of him teaching the minute details of the ‘sweet science’ to his students. Now, he will be leading the grandson of former New York mobster John Gotti once again to war in the squared circle.

So what is Derek Panza’s game plan for how John Gotti III should fight Floyd on August 24? Talking about his learnings, John Gotti III told TMZ that he is ready for a “dog fight”. “If he comes out the way he did the first fight you know I think I am gonna stay right in the pocket this time and I’m gonna give it as good as I could take,” Gotti said.

But what if Mayweather changes strategy, and assumes the role of the elusive counter-puncher? “Maybe he’ll move and be on his bike a little more. I don’t, I don’t know, but I’m prepared,” Gotti stated with confidence.

One thing is for sure, there needs to be a definite change in mindset and tactics from the first time he entered the ring against the 50-0 retired boxer. Mayweather dominated in that fight, even having the time to showboat and throw stinging personal insults in the fight. For the rematch to not turn into an all-out melee like last time, we can only hope that coach Derek Panza has prepared John Gotti III well for the rematch.

What do think will happen in the rematch? Will coach Panza’s guidance come in handy and help Gotti III pull off an upset? Let us know in the comment section below.