Zak Chelli has just shocked David Morrell with a last gasp stoppage victory on the undercard of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
Chelli (17-3-1, 9 KOs) was drafted in as an opponent for the highly touted former WBA champion, who was thrown on the undercard late cancellation of a planned bout with Callum Smith in Liverpool last month.
Morrell (12-2, 9 KOs) was dominating the contest without setting the fight on fire, until Chelli landed a huge overhand right to the chin late in the ninth! Morrell was shaken to the core, but ducked and dived his way out of trouble until the bell. Chelli went looking for the finish in the tenth and final round, which came with just over 30 seconds on the clock.
Chelli cornered the struggling Morrell as the fight passed into the final minute, launching countless left and right hands. The Englishman then caught Morrell with an atomic right hand to the chin, knocking the Cuban out clean on his feet. As Morrell’s head dipped to the floor, referee Darren Sarginson jumped in to stop the fight at 2:24 to hand Chelli the biggest victory of his career.
The 28-year-old from London was working as a school teacher ahead of his bout with Morrell. He had previously defeated a 5-2 Adam Hepple for the vacant English title nearly ten months ago.
Also on the undercard the undefeated Khaleel Majid took a big jump in class when taking on former British and European champion Gavin Gwynne at super lightweight. Both men raised their hands at the final bell, but it was Gwynne (19-4-2, 5 KOs) who had his hand raised with the majority decision to claim the WBA international title. Majid (16-1, 4 KOs) picked up first career defeats following the judges scores of 95-95, 96-94 and 96-94. Neither man barely took a step backwards for the entire ten rounds during a well-matched and competitive contest.
Uzbek heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov put in a lacklustre display on his British debut, despite claiming a seventh round retirement against Agron Smakici in the opening bout of the main card. Smakici (21-4, 19 KOs) was coming off his most competitive round ahead of bizarrely retiring on his stool at the end of the round. Jalolov (17-0, 15 KOs) continues undefeated as a professional, but his performances are still yet to convince, following two Olympic gold medals as an amateur.