As far as I can tell, most theories, hypotheses actually, about black holes are conjectures, albeit by highly intelligent and educated physicists and mathematicians. I postulated the possibility on the Live Science website that nothing existed inside an event horizon, and that a black hole’s gravitational force was derived from the mass that accumulates at the horizon. No one even bothered to acknowledge the question. Either they rejected it out of hand or it was too stupid (probably the latter).
As my bio shows, I am not an expert at anything. My IQ, as measured by the military in 1960, was 125. Sixty years later, it is likely considerably less. I keep trying to wrap my head around time dilation, but only understand (I think) why gravity effects time as it does. Part of my problem is an unwillingness to accept that no form of time is universal. Some day I will elaborate on this point.
I think I understand why/how momentum might be a better fit in E=MC^2 than mass. The notion that mass could become infinite, yet not fill all of space seems credulous (although compressing an infinite mass to a singularity seems almost okay). I can see that momentum would not be related to gravity, while mass almost certainly must be (unless there can be matter without gravitons).
I will pass on sending this question to NASA’s Ask an Astrophysicist site, @ETpro, until I have a better understanding of the issues involved. Mathematical equations go over my head, and unless they are willing to give an answer that a twelve-year-old would understand, such efforts on my part would be futile.