Zak Chelli
Personal information
Born (1997-11-26) 26 November 1997 (age 28)[2]
London, England[2]
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[2]
Weight
  • Super middleweight
  • Light heavyweight
Boxing career
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights 21
Wins 17
Win by KO 9
Losses 3
Draws 1

Zak Chelli (born 26 November 1997) is an English professional boxer. He has held the English light-heavyweight title since June 2025. Chelli is also a former British, Commonwealth, English and WBA Continental super-middleweight champion.

Career

Chelli made his professional debut at York Hall in London on 24 February 2017, stopping Jacob Lucas in the third of their scheduled four-round encounter.[3]

He won his first professional title in his eighth fight, claiming the vacant Southern Area super-middleweight crown with a unanimous decision victory over Jimmy Smith at Wembley Arena on 27 April 2019.[4][5]

On 10 November 2020, Chelli defeated Vladimir Georgiev by unanimous decision and Mike McGoldrick via a second round stoppage at BT Sport Studio in Stratford to win the Boxxer VII tournament and secure a two-year contract with the promotional company.[6][7][8]

He became English super-middleweight champion by dethroning Germaine Brown with a unanimous decision success at Wembley Arena on 11 June 2022.[9]

At the same venue on 11 February 2023, Chelli took the WBA Continental super-middleweight title thanks to a unanimous decision win over Anthony Sims Jr.[10][11][12]

He lost his English title to Mark Jeffers at Manchester Arena on 1 July 2023, going down to a unanimous decision defeat.[13]

Chelli challenged British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Jack Cullen at Liverpool Arena on 20 January 2024, winning the bout by unanimous decision.[14][15]

In his first defense at Oakwell Stadium in Barnsley on 3 August 2024, he lost his titles via unanimous decision to Callum Simpson.[16][17]

After more than 10 months out of the competitive boxing ring, Chelli returned to face Adam Hepple for the vacant English light-heavyweight title at York Hall in London on 27 June 2025. Ahead on all three judges' scorecards and having already sent his opponent to the canvas in the ninth round, Chelli won the fight by knockout in the 10th and final round when Hepple failed to beat the referee's 10-count after being dropped by a punch to his body.[18][19]

He took on former two-weight WBA (Regular) champion David Morrell at Co-op Live in Manchester on 9 May 2026.[20][21] In a massive upset, Chelli won by technical knockout in the 10th and final round for the second bout in a row. While Morrell controlled most of the early portion of the fight, Chelli continued to land several overhand rights that gradually took their toll. Morrell came under major pressure at the end of the ninth and again in the 10th, the latter leading to a severe beating that prompted the referee to step in and stop the fight.[22][23]

Personal life

Chelli was born in England to a Tunisian father and Italian mother. His father was a national boxer in Tunisia, before moving to Italy where he won a title.[24] He has a degree in business, management and marketing from the University of Surrey and, after gaining a teaching qualification, worked as a substitute teacher during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.[25][26] He supports EFL Championship team QPR.[26]

Professional boxing record

21 fights 17 wins 3 losses
By knockout 9 0
By decision 8 3
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
21 Win 17–3–1 David Morrell TKO 10 (10), 2:24 9 May 2026 Co-op Live, Manchester, England
20 Win 16–3–1 Adam Hepple KO 10 (10), 0:29 27 Jun 2025 York Hall, London, England Won vacant English light-heavyweight title
19 Loss 15–3–1 Callum Simpson UD 12 3 Aug 2024 Oakwell Stadium, Barnsley, England Lost British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles
18 Win 15–2–1 Jack Cullen UD 12 20 Jan 2024 Echo Arena, Liverpool, England Won British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles
17 Win 14–2–1 Jordan Grannum KO 4 (4), 2:02 23 Sep 2023 York Hall, London, England
16 Loss 13–2–1 Mark Jeffers UD 10 1 Jul 2023 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Lost English super-middleweight title
15 Win 13–1–1 Anthony Sims Jr. UD 10 11 Feb 2023 Wembley Arena, London, England
14 Win 12–1–1 Germaine Brown UD 10 11 Jun 2022 Wembley Arena, London, England Won English super-middleweight title
13 Win 11–1–1 Jack Kilgannon TKO 6 (8), 2:59 2 Apr 2022 Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, England
12 Win 10–1–1 Bohdan Harkavyi TKO 3 (6), 2:53 10 Apr 2021 Kyiv, Ukraine
11 Win 9–1–1 Mike McGoldrick TKO 2 (3), 1:31 10 Nov 2020 BT Sports Studio, London, England
10 Win 8–1–1 Vladimir Georgiev UD 3 10 Nov 2020 BT Sports Studio, London, England
9 Draw 7–1–1 Jack Cullen SD 10 22 Aug 2020 Matchroom Sport Headquarters, Brentwood, England
8 Loss 7–1 Kody Davies UD 10 14 Sep 2019 York Hall, London, England
7 Win 7–0 Jimmy Smith PTS 10 27 Apr 2019 Wembley Arena, London, England Won Southern Area super-middleweight title.
6 Win 6–0 Ladislav Nemeth TKO 1 (6), 0:59 9 Mar 2019 Woodside Leisure Centre, Watford, England
5 Win 5–0 Umar Sadiq PTS 8 20 Oct 2018 Brentwood Centre, Brentwood, England
4 Win 4–0 Przemyslaw Binienda TKO 2 (4), 2:16 2 Mar 2018 York Hall, London, England
3 Win 3–0 Adam Jones PTS 6 16 Sep 2017 Copper Box Arena, London, England
2 Win 2–0 Chris Dutton TKO 2 (4), 2:17 13 May 2017 First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
1 Win 1–0 Jacob Lucas TD 3 (4), 2:10 24 Feb 2017 York Hall, London, England

References

  1. ^ "Boxing record for Zak Chelli". BoxRec.
  2. ^ a b c "Zak Chelli". tapology.com. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  3. ^ "Chelli snatches his 'time to shine' with both hands". Islington Gazette. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  4. ^ "Zak Chelli Beats Jimmy Smith, Grabs Southern Area Belt". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  5. ^ "I am always ready for a fight: Fulham boxer Zak Chelli sets sights on being world champion". South West Londoner. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  6. ^ "Zak Chelli Wins BOXXER Tournament at BT Sport Studios in London". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  7. ^ "Zak Chelli wins Boxxer tournament and makes it look easy". Seconds Out. 11 November 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  8. ^ "Red-Hot Chelli storms Super-Middleweight Tournament, wins long-term BOXXER contract". boxxer.com. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  9. ^ "Zak Chelli Outboxes Germaine Brown, Viddal Riley Blows Out Jone Volau". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  10. ^ "Chelli overcame Sims Jr. to win the WBA regional belt". wbaboxing.com. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Zak Chelli Outworks Anthony Sims Over Ten, Viddal Riley Wins". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  12. ^ "Zak Chelli takes upset win over Anthony Sims: "I outboxed the boxer. It doesn't get any better!"". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  13. ^ "Mark Jeffers Outpoints Zak Chelli Over Ten Rounds". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  14. ^ "Zak Chelli defeats Jack Cullen to win the British and Commonwealth super-middleweight championships". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  15. ^ "Zak Chelli Fights Past Jack Cullen For Unanimous Decision, Captures British, Commonwealth Titles". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  16. ^ "Callum Simpson overcomes Zak Chelli in hometown triumph to win British and Commonwealth championships". Sky Sports. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  17. ^ "Callum Simpson dethrones Zak Chelli to win super-middleweight titles". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  18. ^ "Fulham fighter crowned new English light-heavyweight champion". London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  19. ^ "Adam Hepple's dream to become English light-heavyweight champion ends in defeat". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  20. ^ "Zak Chelli On Facing David Morrell: "We Asked For It"". Boxing 24/7. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  21. ^ "Zak Chelli explains how he snared showdown with David Morrell". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 1 May 2026.
  22. ^ "David Morrell KO'd by Zak Chelli in stunning upset". The Ring. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  23. ^ "Zak Chelli stuns David Morrell to earn career-changing stoppage". Boxing Scene. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  24. ^ "British boxing star with Italian roots Zak Chelli set for showdown in Barnsley". www.italianinsider.it.
  25. ^ "Zak Chelli: Super-middleweight went from teaching in lockdown to fighting for a British title". BBC Sport. 20 January 2024. Retrieved 14 February 2025.
  26. ^ a b "Zak Chelli reveals the game he plays to sharpen his mind for boxing". British Boxing News.