South Oxhey boxer Reece Bellotti said a late rise up the billing in his English featherweight title fight at Wembley last weekend made him even more determined to come home with victory.

Bellotti, known as “The Bomber”, beat Ian Bailey, who retired at the end of the seventh round after a bruising encounter, having not discovered he would be taking part in a title fight until earlier in the same week.

The bout had originally been scheduled to be the title eliminator for the featherweight crown – but as well as dealing with a title fight, the 25-year-old also had to watch on as his gym partner, Jake Ball, was knocked out in his bout as he waited in the wings.

He said: “The fight got changed leading up to it; it was originally the title eliminator, and then got put up to the main title.

“It gives you even more of an incentive to win, because it was the main fight I was even more determined to win.

“It was a mix of up and down emotions for me. My gym mate, Jake, who I train with every day, was knocked out in the previous fight.

“I couldn’t believe what I was watching but you have to switch on and just forget it.

“It was a bit mad really, but after I was so happy; but still thinking about Jake. But looking back, it’s all good.”

The victory caps an up-and-down year for Bellotti, who endured struggles with injury at the start of the season, before continuing his professional career which began in May last year.

He said: “I was injured at the beginning of the year, some fights have happened and some have been called off since then but it’s all gone very well all in all.  “We wanted to end the year with a title battle, but you never know if it will.”

The fighter is still undefeated since turning professional, a two-weight national – but with one of the more unusual day jobs in sport, spending his time rigging lighting on film sets including the Harry Potter series.

It is something Bellotti still takes time out to do, but now counts it more as a hobby than a career.

He said: “Sometimes I try to get some work in there but I don’t need to. I’m boxing for a living now, but I’ve been on plenty of film sets in the past.

“I would say there probably isn’t another boxer who knows anything about it really.

“My dad was involved in the film set industry, so I just wanted to follow him when I was younger.”

Bellotti is a former Oxhey Jets footballer and also a keen Watford fan, but sporting pursuits of his own have kept him from visiting Vicarage Road too often in the past few seasons.

In Saturday night’s fight, however, he showed his colours with pride with the Hornets’ logo stitched to his shorts inside the ring.

“I follow them as closely as I can,” he said. “I’m trying to follow them at weekends, but it’s hard and I have to get people to help me keep up to date.”

Bellotti also opened up on a playful rumour that he had been the inspiration for Anthony Joshua’s move into boxing from football as a youngster – the two played against one another for their teams.

“You could say I inspired him to go from football into boxing,” he said. “I used to come up against him, but you’d have to ask him about that.”