DESPITE falling short against Ryan Garner last week, former British and Commonwealth champion Reece Bellotti has been presented with an unexpected opportunity against Josh Padley.
‘The Bomber’ entered his last outing after amassing a mightily impressive six-fight unbeaten run, securing wins over the likes of Aqib Fiaz, Liam Dillon and Michael Gomez Jr.
Against super-featherweight contender Garner, however, the 34-year-old was forced to suffer a 12th-round stoppage defeat and, in his post-fight interview, admitted that a series of opportunities were unlikely to come knocking at his door.
Yet now, in a remarkably swift turn of events, Bellotti, 20-6 (15 KOs), looks to put his career back on track as he gears up to face former world title challenger Padley, 16-1 (5 KOs).
The pair will square off on the undercard of Dave Allen vs Arslanbek Makhmudov on October 11, with ‘Paddy’ claiming a home advantage at the Sheffield Arena, England.
Earlier this year, the Doncaster man found himself sharing the ring with Shakur Stevenson on just a few days’ notice, several months after his unanimous decision victory over Mark Chamberlain.
But despite his less-than-ideal preparation, Padley nonetheless gave a titanic effort against the WBC lightweight champion and, as a result, landed himself a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
From there, the 29-year-old quit his day job as a sparky and secured a punishing fifth-round stoppage victory over Marko Cvetanovic, a relatively unknown quantity, in April.
Bellotti, meanwhile, will introduce Padley to his first assignment at 130lbs, where the former electrician may even look to launch himself into another world title fight before long.
