Bellotti 'absolutely coming to spoil' Garner's party

BBC News

18 hours ago

Reece Bellotti says he is coming to "spoil the party" when he fights Ryan Garner in Bournemouth on Saturday. The 34-year-old British and Commonwealth super-featherweight champion will travel down to the south coast and compete for the chance to add Garner's blue and gold European strap to his collection. Bellotti has 20 wins and five defeats to his name but since moving up to the 130lbs super-featherweight division he has a perfect six out of six record, picking up his two titles along the way. "Both of our styles are very similar," he told BBC Sport."It's going to be nothing but a great fight in my opinion and I think everyone else agrees."But absolutely I'm coming to spot the party, I wouldn't be here for anything else."Bellotti will step into a packed Bournemouth International Centre where Garner cruised to a convincing unanimous decision win over Salvador Jimenez earlier this year. The build-up to their fight so far has been respectful between the two but "the Bomber", as Bellotti is known, has already had a taste of what the atmosphere could be like on fight night. The two faced off in Garner's hometown at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium, external a few months ago and Bellotti was on the end of some jeers and boos from fans of "the Piranha". "I've dealt with these kind of atmospheres already," Bellotti added."I've been on a few away days across Manchester and Liverpool before and I'm looking forward to the challenge."My mindset is that he [Garner] is the toughest opponent by a mile, others might look at someone like Ray Ford, who's a world champion, and say he is, but for me Garner is the top one and I've trained accordingly."
New-found form since moving up in weight
Last time out, Bellotti forced rival Michael Gomez Jr to retire after putting him down twice at the Co-op Live arena in Manchester. That contest was originally supposed to take place in October 2024 but was put back to February of this year after Gomez Jr was taken ill on the night and ruled out of the contest by doctors. In the rescheduled bout, despite being cut over the right eye in the sixth round, Bellotti inflicted enough damage to Gomez Jr that he retired in his corner in the 10th. Before his switch to super-featherweight, Bellotti, from Watford, was defeated five times at 125lbs, between 2018 and 2021. But since then he has flourished at his new weight, claiming the iconic Lonsdale belt in 2024 with a victory over Liam Dillon."I believe in myself and I believe I can beat Garner," Bellotti said."People can write me off if they want, they'll see what happens on fight night, I learnt loads from my defeats and I'm better for it now."Mentally and physically I feel the best I've felt in my career right now, experience is key in this and coming up to super featherweight has really helped me, I've become more adaptable and grown as a fighter."