British boxer Zak Chelli, who has ties to Italy through his Italian mother, Concetta Battipaglia, enjoyed the greatest night of his career just under four months ago, completely defying the pre-fight odds and knocking out highly rated Cuban fighter David Morrell. However, his hopes of seeing his career take off have so far been disappointed.
In a video message addressed to his fans and recorded while out on a run, Chelli expressed all his frustration at the way he feels he was given false promises and then cast aside by Queensberry Promotions. Here is what he said:
“I was promised a big fight after that [David Morrell] knockout. … If any other light heavyweight did what I did, like Joshua Buatsi or Willy Hutchinson or Anthony Yarde, they’d be promoted like crazy but I wasn’t. I was left under the rug.
“They promised me an interim world title either against Willy Hutchinson or Joshua Buatsi or a name big like that. Unfortunately we wouldn’t be able to fight Callum Smith because he’s with a different promotion. But [Buatsi or Hutchinson] should have been possible.
“I was sold a dream. They didn’t promote me. They tried to sweep me under the rug. They said, ‘Within 6 months, you’ll be fighting for an interim world title.’
“Yesterday in a meeting, I found out it’s all been lies. There is no big fight for me. There never was. My contract is now void with them. I’m a free agent.”
Chelli, who will turn 29 in November, has a professional record of 17 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw, with 9 victories coming by knockout. At super middleweight, he won the English, British and Commonwealth titles, before adding the English light heavyweight title to his collection in 2025.
The victory over Morrell was supposed to mark a new beginning for him and open the door to bigger purses and meaningful fights. We will now see whether, with his relationship with Frank Warren having come to an end, another major promoter will be willing to put their faith in him.