From an outside perspective, Zak Chelli has been presented with a treacherous mountain to climb on Saturday, when he takes on world-class light-heavyweight contender David Morrell.
His career, for starters, has been plagued by inactivity over the past 20-odd months, with Chelli having completed just one assignment – an English title triumph – since losing unanimously to Callum Simpson in August 2024.
Secondly, the former British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion has not competed even remotely close to world level at 168lbs, never mind 175lbs, as he looks to pull off an almighty upset against Morrell.
The talented Cuban was supposed to face Callum Smith last month, only for an injury to rule his opponent out of their mouth-watering contest.
In a bizarre turn of events, though, Morrell will now collide with Chelli on the undercard of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena.
Putting his inactivity down to “contract issues”, and “other things behind the scenes”, Chelli tells Boxing News that he has kept himself ticking over in the gym.
All the while, he has struggled to convince his domestic counterparts to roll the dice against him, but will now take a sizable risk in pursuit of a greater reward.
“When I say I want big fights, I mean it. As you can see, I’m fighting David Morrell – trying to prove to them [his domestic counterparts] that I’m above their level.
“I’m coming up to 10 years as a pro, so I know how the process works; I know the business.
“You’ve got to be patient, because you can have that one phone call that changes your life.”
Alongside his pro career, Chelli works for a company called Time Out Boxing, where he teaches the fundamentals to children with special educational needs or behavioural management issues.
Initially, he says, the kids take one look and mistake him for an “aggressive guy”, but then they get to know him and start to “show a lot of respect”.
The Londoner might have a harder time earning the respect of Morrell, however, even if this is an opportunity that he was actively pushing for.
“As soon as Callum Smith got injured, my dad literally went on every social media post and said: ‘Give [Morrell] to my son’.
“Then we got a phone call from Alfie Warren [of Warren Boxing Management], telling us this fight could be made.”
While knowing the reputation of his next opponent, who lost a competitive decision to David Benavidez in February 2025, Chelli equally feels no reason to study the 28-year-old.
He is, however, acutely aware of his familiar underdog status, which gave him an added incentive to produce strong performances against Jack Cullen and Anthony Sims Jr in 2020 and 2023, respectively.
“I haven’t seen much of [Morrell], to be honest, but I know Benavidez is a good fighter and he did manage to go 12 rounds with Benavidez, so I’m not going to underestimate him. But, on May 9, I’ll show people my level and what I’m capable of.
“I’ve had a lot of people doubting me in many of my fights, but I think that motivates me to do better.”
In terms of a gameplan, Chelli has considered no such thing ahead of his clash with Morrell, who comes off a split decision victory over Olympic bronze medallist Imam Khataev last July.
Instead, he would rather be prepared for all possible scenarios than focus primarily on a specific style of fighter, especially given that he has only had between three and four weeks’ notice.
“I don’t really think specific sparring helps because, when you’re in the ring with someone, they’re always going to be different to how [you’ve previously seen] them.
“But, with southpaws, I’ve fought many of them and have always done well. I’m always expecting the unexpected. Anything that comes my way, I’ll adapt and manoeuvre around it.”
Regardless of the outcome, Chelli will still be mandatory for the British title at 175lbs, which certainly removes a degree of pressure from his showdown with Morrell.
That said, there is a clear desire to get his career back on track and secure further opportunities, knowing he would be better-equipped to do so with an eye-catching performance in his next outing.
