Zak Chelli refuses to be a walk-on part for his own title defense

As Callum Simpson autographed gloves, posed for photographs and picked out friendly faces in the crowd, Zak Chelli sauntered though Barnsley’s Glass Works shopping center and up to Thursday’s outdoor public workout almost unnoticed.

The Londoner has traveled north to defend his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles against the unbeaten Simpson and although his name takes top billing on the fight poster, Chelli is under no illusions that he is the star attraction this weekend.

On Saturday night, the town’s Oakwell stadium will be packed with 7,000 Simpson fans who have bought tickets for the coronation of a new champion rather than a fight.

“It’s actually quite lovely,” a smiling Chelli, 15-2-1 (7 KOs), told BoxingScene in the South Yorkshire sunshine. “To be fair to Barnsley, it’s actually better than I thought. It’s a nice little town.”

The unique surroundings are unlikely to phase Chelli. The 26-year-old was touted as one to watch before he even turned professional but really made his name during the bizarre behind closed doors COVID affected era of boxing. Chelli fought Jack Cullen to a disputed draw on the lawn at Matchroom Boxing’s headquarters and then won a one-night tournament in front of a few invited guests and masked officials in a television studio.

Things will be much louder on Saturday night but Chelli has waited his entire career for such a moment and isn’t going to let a hostile crowd spoil things for him. 

“I think it’s great. I’m looking forward to it all. I’m looking forward to fighting in that environment and I’m looking forward to the weigh-in. It’s good competition and good for the sport. It’s all good,” he said.

“[I’ve waited for something like this] since I started boxing, so all of my life. I’ve been boxing for seven or eight years now. Once I beat him in front of everyone – God willing – that’s big for me and it’s gonna put me on an even bigger platform.”

Chelli has an awkward, unusual style and is capable of lulling his opponents into his rhythm. The normally aggressive Cullen seemed almost hypnotized as Chelli relieved him of his British and Commonwealth titles in their rematch in January. 

Simpson, 14-0 (10 KOs), is aware that keeping his composure amid a rowdy atmosphere will be key to his hopes of success but Chelli knows that if he can get off to a good start, pressure will begin to build on the hometown fighter and that rather than pushing him to glory, the expectation of a sizeable support could begin to weigh him down. 

“I believe so. Especially because he’ll want to prove something in front of all his fans. He might end up rushing into shots. We’ll see how it goes on the night” Chelli said.

“I’m pretty good at evading shots and escaping. We’re gonna see how he deals with it.

“I’ve also got a great jab. A great double jab. A good left hook. Great body shots. He’ll be surprised to see what comes. You don’t get to British title level off just one right hand.”

Simpson has racked up four impressive victories since appearing on Sky Sports as an undefeated Area champion less than 18 months ago, but for a relatively inexperienced fighter to be given such a major stage to perform on is extremely rare.

Chelli’s career has had its ups and downs but although he has only had four more professional fights than Simpson, he has boxed at a higher level and accumulated the type of scars that can only be collected during hard competition. Chelli has lost just once in five years – to the excellent Mark Jefffers – and only a rock solid domestic operator would reel off victories over Germaine Brown, Jack Kilgannon, Anthony Simms Jnr and Cullen.

As talented as Simpson is, he will duck between the ropes on Saturday night with plenty of questions to answer. Chelli will stride to the ring with the self belief of a champion and the confidence that he is the better prepared if the fight becomes a hard nip and tuck battle.

“I’ll be his toughest test. I think he’s got to the deep end a bit quickly. I’ve had hard fights from the beginning – I beat Umar Sadiq in my fifth fight – I’ve beaten good opponents throughout my career,” Chelli said.

“I think my journey is the right one. I done the Southern Area, the English title and the WBA Intercontinental titles and now I’m the British and Commonwealth champion. I’ve done the hard steps. Hopefully the next one is going to be from British to the European title and the world.”