DODGE VS BELLOTTI TOPS WELL MATCHED SHOW: PREVIEW

On Friday 22nd of April, the evening before one of the biggest all-British clashes of recent years that over 80,000 fans descend to Wembley stadium to see Tyson Fury versus Dillian Whyte, York Hall will host an intriguing evening put on by promotor Mark Neilson. The main event consists of a Southern Area Super Featherweight Title clash between Dean Dodge who hails from Somerset, and the more recognisable Reece Bellotti from Watford.

There’s no doubt that Bellotti has been in with the considerably higher calibre of opposition on much larger platforms than this. One of his most notable career heights was winning the Commonwealth Title against Jason Cunningham in 2017, which he then defended against Ben Jones in 2018. On the other hand, Dodge has only been 10 rounds once in his entire career in 2021, which resulted in a points defeat for the same Southern Area Title that he will be contesting for against Bellotti.

Dodge certainly has a point to prove and you can watch it live on BoxNation this Friday. Bellotti is coming off the back of three straight defeats as well as having significantly more miles on the clock which Dodge will definitely look to capitalise on. Being the more youthful fighter and utilising his height advantage can sway this contest into Dodge’s favour for his biggest fight yet in this cross-road clash.

It’s fair to say that retirement could be on the cards if Bellotti suffers his fourth defeat in a row, the potential for Reece to put everything on the line for one last roll of the dice is highly probable as this is an individual that has never had his heart questioned throughout his successful career.

The co-main event between Britain’s Ashley Sexton and South African Sabelo Ngebinyana has the vacant IBF International Bantamweight Title up for grabs which will catapult the winner into a solid ranking position, leaving a lot on the line in another evenly matched contest.

Ngebinyana has an aura of danger heading into this matchup with 10 of his 13 wins coming by stoppage compared to just 5 in 17 for Sexton. Both men have come back from defeat in their career but more recently with Ngebinyana where he lost over an 8 round distance by unanimous decision in just his last fight.

Sexton’s last defeat came all the way back in 2013 in an EBU European Title fight, and at the age of 34, losing can’t be an option for the Brit. This could be a cagey, cautious affair to begin with but I believe Sexton has the tools to take over on cruise control after the first two rounds of gaining intelligence on his opponent.

The undercard sees a familiar name return to professional boxing after a life of ups and downs- Tommy Jacobs was a highly touted amateur in his younger days has recently had his pro licence granted by the British Boxing Board, allowing him to fight professionally at the age of 34. Don’t be deceived by the highly inexperienced record that is attached to Jacobs as he takes on Billy Underwood in just his third fight in the middleweight division.

Both men have only gone as far as the four round distance on points against journeymen and it should be a competitive matchup which holds unpredictability on the outcome from the both undefeated men. Tommy has continuously told the boxing world what he should have achieved in the ring and I suspect he will prove a point against a game opponent.

Undefeated prospect 21 year old Nathan Mizon, from Surrey, takes on Lesther Espino from Nicaragua as he strives to increase his winning record and learning in the super-welterweight division. There is a ten year age gap but Mizon has to stay focused or the unpredictability of Espino, with two early wins in two and travelling from abroad, could be a potential banana skin in the early stages of his career.

Quaise (Kaisy) Khademi returns after a loss and a draw with Ijaz Ahmed at British Title level and takes on another Nicaraguan, Darwin Martinez, over 6 rounds in the bantamweight division in what looks like an evenly matched contest.

Harley Benn returns for the first time since 2020 and continues to build his own name in the sport with a learning fight against Seamus Devlin. Super-middleweight Chris Onwuegbusi also features in his second pro fight, with an opponent TBC.

Three debutants to keep an eye on will be making an appearance on this stacked card: Kerim Agius in the flyweight division, Beau Reynolds-Wallduck in the super-welter division and Luke Liddiard in the super-lightweight division. They all take on experienced opponents and it’s a great platform to perform on their debuts.

This will be an intriguing night with a good mixture of talent at varying stages of their careers, but the most important thing is that these are evenly matched bouts which will deliver entertainment for the viewers. Boxing can get mundane with pushover after pushover but this card really restores anticipation for the viewer on the night before a major PPV clash.

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