Bellotti: I’ll Thrive Under Headlining Pressure

Reece Bellotti says he’ll thrive under the pressure of his first headline show tonight as he takes on Dai Davies in an eliminator for the British Featherweight title in the first of the JDNXTGEN series at York Hall, Bethnal Green, live on Sky Sports Facebook and Sky Sports 1.

Bellotti has raced to 8-0 in the paid ranks and ended seven of those fights early and the 26 year old is looking for another early night to kick off a big year in his career in style.

The Bomber can take a giant step towards the Lord Lonsdale belt by beating Davies in east London, but with the 33 year old Welshman holding bags of experience from his 40 pro outings, Bellotti knows he is in for the toughest night in the paid ranks yet.

“I’ve never topped the bill as a pro and that is something I’ll have to overcome, but I am not fazed by it in any way and I can’t wait to perform,” said Bellotti

“He’s got a lot more experience than me and he’s probably boxed people at this stage in their career so he will know what to do.

“It is a stepping stone I have to go on towards the British title. Every fighter when he first starts out wants to win a British title, and more titles down the line.

“I know it is going to be a tough fight. Davies has done well in his recent fights, so it won’t be easy.

“By the end of this year I want to have boxed for the British title and have won it. I want to keep developing as a boxer.

“He will be a lot more ring-savvy than me and know some tricks I haven’t seen before. There could be things which happen on the night which I will have to deal with.

“I prefer the longer rounds and it works both ways. If you have a couple of bad rounds, you have time to recover and the longer it goes the more you wear your opponent out.

“Because of the knockouts, people assume you are going to go looking and I did the opposite against Ian Bailey, because it suited that fight.

“We went in with a game plan to use my feet and show a bit more of my ability and it worked. I got the stoppage so it worked.

“I can do the same with Dai Davies, but also mix it up a bit more to get the win.”

Bellotti’s clash with Davies tops the first JDNXTGEN show with young gun Craig Richards faces fellow unbeaten Londoner Alan Higgins for the Southern Area Super-Middleweight title.

Isaac Chamberlain returns to action at the scene of his fantastic Southern Area Cruiserweight title win over Wadi Camacho in September, where Chamberlain prevailed on points having dislocated his shoulder, Paul Hyland Jr faces Peter Cope over eight rounds, and there’s also action on the bill for Ben Hall, Felix Cash, Jake Ball and Danny Dignum.

Limited tickets remain on sale now priced £40 (unreserved) and £60 (ringside) and are available here: https://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets-matchroom-presents–a-night-of-boxing-at-york-hall-london-york-hall-17-3-2017/event/9821976/?gcid=chPrt-_-geoUK-_-genboxing-_-cpgyorkhall17-_-partmatchroom