Liam Dillon faces Reece Bellotti live from The O2 in London, England on Saturday, February 10. The super featherweight contest headlines Matchroom Boxing’s NXTGEN card. The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds.
Liam Dillon (13-0-1, 3 KOs) makes the first defense of his British title. The 28-year-old landed the vacant belt last July, when he defeated Qais Ashfaq by split decision. In addition, unbeaten Londoner looks to claim the Commonwealth strap.
“It’s my boyhood dream come true,” Dillon said at the pre-fight press conference. “The best fights were when they unified the British and Commonwealth titles. I’m looking forward to this and hopefully seeing what the next step is. We’ve got a big stable down at RJ’s.”
“As Reece said the British title is the one belt that you want to win, so going in there with the British title and everyone looking at it was great. We’ve got a big stable now and I think there will be a few British champions down there in the next couple of years. Reece has been around for a long time. He comes to fight. I’m looking forward to a good scrap. I see a Dillon win. I’m going to be victorious.”
The Watford, England native Reece Bellotti (17-5, 14 KOs) is coming off the win via eighth-round RTD against Aqib Fiaz last October. Riding a three-fight winning streak, the 33-year-old puts his Commonwealth title on the line and makes his second attempt to become British champion.
In late 2018, Bellotti challenged Ryan Walsh for the same title, but fell short dropping a split decision.
“I was after the British title against Walsh and he obviously beat me, he was a good fighter,” Bellotti said. “Like you say, anyone who starts out in boxing, mainly they want to win the British title. It’s the best looking belt in boxing and it’s always been a title that I’ve wanted to win. I’ve got the chance Saturday night.”
“My confidence is high, really high. I’ve been written off. I’ve had three back-to-back wins against good fighters. I probably wasn’t expected to win those fights either. I won them in good style. Dillon’s style and my style are bound to gel well and we’ll be in for a great fight. Nobody has gone looking for me yet, so I’m probably not going to change that. Our styles will make for a fan favourite fight.”
Among the bouts featured on Dillon vs Bellotti undercard, Watford’s Shannon Ryan (6-0) and Emma Dolan (6-0, 1 KOs) of Norwich, England battle it out at super flyweight. Craig Richards (17-3-1, 10 KOs) goes through the ropes in front of his hometown crowd against Boris Crighton (12-4, 7 KOs) of Glasgow, Scotland at light heavyweight. Cameron Vuong (3-0, 2 KOs) of Blyth, England takes on Ishmael Ellis (14-7) of Birmingham, England at lightweight.