A product of London, England, Zak Chelli made his boxing debut at the age of 19 when he defeated Jacob Lucas by technical decision. Chelli would go on to win his next six fights.
On September 14, 2019, Zak Chelli suffered his first professional loss when he lost by unanimous decision to Kody Davies. Eleven months later, Chelli stepped back into the ring and drew with Jack Cullen.
Chelli would go on to go on a four-fight winning streak. Chelli went for five in a row, and he succeeded when he beat Germaine Brown to win the English super-middleweight title.
Chelli had one successful title defense before losing the belt to Mark Jeffers. Five months later, in a rematch against Jack Cullen, back in January 2024, Chelli outpointed Cullen, and as a result he won the British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles.
Recently, a highly anticipated April 2026 bout between highly rated David Morrell and WBO Interim Light Heavyweight Champion Callum Smith was scheduled to take place in Liverpool. Unfortunately, Smith withdrew due to a training injury.
However, David Morrell was given another opportunity to make his boxing debut in the UK. On May 9, 2026, David Morrell traveled to Manchester, England to face Zak Chelli.
Boxing is a sport based on levels, and during the first half of the fight southpaw David Morrell demonstrated how he was a level above Zak Chelli. During the second half of the fight, Chelli had his moments, but Morrell was in complete control.
The turning point of the fight came with 20 seconds left in the ninth round, when Chelli landed a hard right hand, which stunned Morrell. For the next nineteen seconds, Chelli hit Morrell with a steady barrage of blows.
At the 2:26 mark of the 10th round, Chelli hurt Morrell again when he landed a big left hand shot. In the final 40 seconds of round 10, Chelli connected with a six-punch combination, forcing the referee to step in and stop the bout.
David Morrell (12-2, 9 KOs) lost the first fight of his career in February 2025 against pound-for-pound star David Benavidez. On Saturday night, May 9, Morrell lost his second fight against Zak Chelli, a supply teacher specializing in math and science.
Zak Chelli (17-3-1, 9 KOs) earned the luxury of making a dream come true when he defeated a former two-division champion. With his confidence at an all-time high, Chelli called out a man who is at the top of the food chain.
“Morell did pretty well with Benavidez, didn’t he?” Chelli said. “And I did better, so why not? I can definitely become world champion.”
Zak Chelli just got the biggest win of his professional career, and he’s ready to move on to the next step. Chelli probably won’t get the Benavidez fight, but at least the trainer could capitalize on the opportunity to teach David Morrell a valuable lesson.
