REECE Bellotti and Michael Gomez Jr traded jibes at a heated press conference ahead of their British and Commonwealth title fight this Saturday.
The pair will square off on the undercard of Jack Catterall vs Arnold Barboza Jr for what promises to deliver an intriguing super-featherweight clash at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.
The fight, however, was supposed to take place last October until Gomez, 21-1 (6 KOs), withdrew from their contest at the 11th hour due to an illness.
Immediately after hearing the devastating news, Bellotti, 19-5 (14 KOs), expressed his frustration on DAZN’s live broadcast, questioning the authenticity of his domestic rival’s reasoning.
The 34-year-old claimed his Lonsdale Belt with a unanimous decision victory over Liam Dillon last year, before producing another comprehensive performance to outpoint Levi Giles just under five months later.
Gomez, meanwhile, comes off a sixth-round stoppage victory over Kane Baker, defending his English strap ahead of what looks to be the toughest test of his career.
At today’s press conference, the 30-year-old insisted that the decision to pull out of their original contest was taken out of his hands.
But still, Bellotti remains unconvinced by his opponent’s story, suggesting that he had the opportunity to withdraw during fight week.
“I met my team at the arena on fight night,” Gomez said. “Me and my manager had a back-and-forth. He wasn’t happy with the way I was and took it upon himself to get the doctor involved.”
Bellotti then interrupted and asked: “Why didn’t your team see you all day?”
He then added: “You should sack them. Why wouldn’t your team check on you in the morning if they know you’re not right? Your story has holes in it – that’s all I’m saying.
“I’m not denying that you were ill, but you knew you were ill way before [fight night].”
