Dillon vs Bellotti Predictions: British and Commonwealth unification likely for Reece Bellotti

Champions will meet at the Indigo at the O2 this Saturday when British super featherweight champion Liam Dillon seeks to unify his title with Commonwealth counterpart Reece Belotti. This battle of Watford vs Chingford is sure to fire the passions in London as a fighter on the rise faces one who came back from the brink.

Bellotti must be pinching himself on the eve of this occasion. A promising featherweight, ‘Bomber’ was a 12-0 Commonwealth champion when he lost his title to Ryan Doyle in 2018. The result saw the rot set in and the fading of his hopes.

Bellotti lost three consecutive fights between 2019 and 2021. By the time Raymond Ford knocked him out in three rounds at Matchroom HQ during the pandemic, the Watford man must have wondered if a return to title level would ever come. 

But the 33-year-old regrouped admirably, knocking out Dean Dodge for the Southern Area super featherweight title. Last year he scored a huge upset over the highly-touted Aqib Fiaz, stopping him in the eighth round to capture a second Commonwealth title. 

Dillon has not suffered from the same adversity. His record stands at 13-0-1, with the sole blemish coming in a English title draw with Youssef Khoumari, who was unbeaten himself at the time. Dillon would get another crack at that title, beating Dennis Wahome to win the vacant gold in his next bout.

Dillon upgraded to the British belt last time out, taking a split decision against Qais Ashfaq in Newcastle. It was a close, hard fight. Something that is becoming customary for Dillon. His lack of power, having knocked out just 3 of his 14 opponents, can often lead to him being taken into deep waters. In his last five fights, Dillon has lodged one stoppage, one draw, and three decisions that were all either majority or split. The Chingford man is winning, but not clearly and dominantly.

This could harm Dillon against Bellotti. While the Watford man can be beaten, as evidenced by his 17-5 record, he does pack a whack. 14 of those 17 victims have been stopped. When Bellotti is on form, he usually gets his man out of there.

How will this play out against a fighter in Dillon who doesn’t have the power to keep him off? Bellotti will enter with confidence, having conspired a bad run of form to the history books. His last fight saw him score the biggest win of his professional career. Bellotti put on his best ever performance against his toughest opponent. Given his previous hardships, it is hard to see him looking past Dillon.

Given Dillon’s lack of punch power and Bellotti’s peaking form, I’m going for ‘Bomber’ to take both belts home in this one. I don’t see Dillon overcoming Bellotti’s aggression without the requisite power to discourage him. Bellotti is 4/6 to triumph in this one.

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