Reece Bellotti may be late into his fighting career, but he insists there is life in the old dog yet.
The 34 year old will take on Josh Padley this Saturday at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England, in a contest that is crucial for the careers of both. Padley is riding high from an impressive fifth round stoppage of Marko Cvetanovic in his Matchroom Boxing debut back in April. Padley made his name by defeating Mark Chamberlain in 2024 on a Riyadh Season bill before taking WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson nine rounds on short notice.
Bellotti has been around the British boxing scene for years, but despite his vast experience over Padley, is not fancied by the bookies and many onlookers. The odds have shifted heavily in favor of the young, hungry Padley in his junior lightweight debut, after all, they say boxing is a young man’s game. Bellotti, however, isn’t listening to the critics, and is taking inspiration from the two 38-year-olds sitting at the top of the pound-for-pound list, Oleksandr Usyk and Terence Crawford.
“I'm an old bastard really, because they think I'm an old man, I'm done,” Bellotti told BoxingScene. “But there's plenty of life left in the old dog, and as Usyk says, 38 is young. So I think that definitely plays a part in it, and obviously where [Padley] has been in with Shakur Stevenson, it looks really good on his resume. Experience is something you can never buy. You can only learn from an elder or get that experience. So yeah, it's definitely going to play a part. He'll learn the hard way.”
Despite Bellotti’s confidence heading into Saturday’s contest, he is not overlooking his opponent who only really burst on the scene just over 12 months ago against Chamberlain.
“I think he's tough, he's kind of up and coming really,” said Bellotti. “He's been thrown in against two people that are tough. He beat Mark Chamberlain — beat him well. That's a good performance from him personally. Obviously I was cheering for him against Shakur Stevenson, because he's British, but obviously Shakur Stevenson is a special talent. He's done well, he proved he was tough in that fight.”
Bellotti is making a quick turnaround, having fallen to Ryan Garner in July in a clash for the European and British 130lbs titles. Bellotti was stopped in the 12th round after being outclassed by Garner for much of the contest, but had no doubts heading straight into another tough fight.
“Consistency is key with everything in training, especially now I'm an old bastard like everyone knows and I'm always constantly training, so to me it was a no-brainer,” he said. “I'm still active so it's something I'm really looking forward to now.
“I think [Garner] was the better man on the night. I don't think I performed to my 100 per cent best, but that's no excuse on my part, it's just what it is. Sometimes you show up, sometimes you don't. Like I say, it's just another bit of experience that I've learnt and I'll take it into this fight.”
