Reece Bellotti has questioned the legitimacy of his opponent Michael Gomez Jnr’s late withdrawal from their fight on Saturday evening.
Bellotti and Gomez were due to fight for the British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles on the undercard of Jack Catterall-Regis Prograis at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
According to promoters Matchroom and Gomez’s manager Kevin Maree, however, Gomez Jnr was forced to withdraw at late notice on Saturday evening on the advice of the doctor who diagnosed him with a kidney infection.
The development was announced little more than an hour before they had been due to fight, and by when the undercard had already started. Bellotti, 33, said he was dubious and claimed that his opponent had been seen inspecting the venue beforehand.
“I was right here in the venue checking the atmosphere and then Frank Smith took me to one side and said, ‘Fight’s off’,” the British and Commonwealth champion told BoxingScene. “I thought he was taking the piss. I started laughing, saying, ‘What are you talking about? Why?’
“He said, ‘He’s got an infection or something and can’t make the fight’. I said, ‘Bollocks, he’s swallowed it, you don’t get here and do that’. I’m telling you now, any boxer who is out there will tell you – you don’t do that.”
Speculation had persisted that Gomez Jnr’s condition is a consequence of him struggling to make weight.
“Nothing [wrong with him] – we got told nothing,” said Bellotti. “As far as we’re concerned he looked alright; he made the weight. It’s difficult for any fighter to make weight these days. They never told us there was an injury or anything. He made the weight, came up and said hello. He was fine. Turned up to the arena; he was fine. Gets to the changing room and fell out of his arse.
“I don’t know [why he’s done it], man. When you watch some of his interviews, it’s always, ‘One of us is getting banged out’, Fighters don’t do that,.I say, ‘You’re getting banged out’. He’s already doubting himself, he got here, shit hit the fan and he melted.”
Gomez Jnr had sold a huge number of tickets for their fight and Bellotti believes that the added pressure of fighting in front of a sizeable home support may have intimidated him.
“One hundred per cent [it affected him],” he said. “There is pressure but that’s what we fight for. That’s what spurs you on to fight better. He has now got to go and explain to 1,000 people and say, ‘Oh, sorry, my team got the doctor in and pulled me out’. Mate, you’re the one who has to get tested – the doctor would have come in for me and I would have said, ‘No I’m sweet, don’t worry about me, I’m ready to fight’. He took the easy way out.
“This has never happened to me, so I don’t have a fucking clue [if I can expect to get paid] to be honest. If I get paid, then good – I deserve it. I’ve been through hell for this fight – I’ve had one of the hardest camps of my life to date.
“One hundred per cent [I want to be compensated]. I’ve got like 40 people who have spent a load of money on hotels and the rest of it. Spent a load of money for what? I’m not even fighting.”
Bellotti’s team later insisted that he will be paid.
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