{"id":583241,"date":"2026-05-14T08:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T08:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/583241\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T08:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T08:43:08","slug":"give-him-the-pain-meet-zak-chelli-the-supply-teacher-turned-boxing-sensation-boxing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/583241\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Give him the pain\u2019: meet Zak Chelli, the supply teacher turned boxing sensation | Boxing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Saturday night in Manchester, Zak Chelli, a 28-year-old supply teacher from Fulham, produced one of the sporting upsets of the year<\/a> when he knocked out Cuba\u2019s esteemed David Morrell in a stoppage as shocking as it was compelling. Chelli had been offered the fight two weeks earlier and despite the limited preparation he proved himself a formidable late replacement.<\/p>\n

Morrell was ahead on the scorecards, but he was hurt badly in the ninth round. In the 10th and last, Mr Chelli \u2013 as he is known to his pupils \u2013 delivered a blistering lesson before Morrell was rescued by the referee.<\/p>\n

A joyous Chelli exclaimed he had just done what even David Benavidez could not manage. Last year, Morrell suffered the only previous loss of his career<\/a> when the imposing Benavidez beat him on points. But Morrell had knocked down Benavidez, one of the most feared fighters around, to burnish his own reputation.<\/p>\n

Yet, giving hope to supply teachers everywhere, Chelli beat Morrell in an uplifting boxing story that might have echoed Rocky, but for some key differences. In Hollywood\u2019s take on boxing, Rocky Balboa steeled himself for his unlikely shot at glory by pounding slabs of meat in a slaughterhouse<\/a>. Chelli, instead, was given a cheerful send-off by his class at Thomas Knyvett, a secondary school in Surrey.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said to the students: \u2018I\u2019m not going to be here next week because I\u2019ll be in Manchester for fight week,\u2019\u201d Chelli says. \u201cI said have a look at this guy, David Morrell, and they were like: \u2018Sir, you\u2019d better win or don\u2019t come back, because it\u2019ll be embarrassing for you.\u2019 I was like: \u2018I know.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Chelli looks briefly serious before he laughs at his own earlier naivety in a classroom. \u201cMy mistake when I first became a teacher was that I was always happy. Never smile when you\u2019re a supply teacher because the kids will rip you a new one. They\u2019ll take the mick out of you. If you\u2019re a supply teacher, they think they can do what they want. So I\u2019ve learned to always have a firm and steady look, be sure about yourself, don\u2019t be happy and say this is a great day because that\u2019s when they try and take advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nods when I suggest this sounds like the fight mask a boxer has to use during the ritual face-\u200aoff. \u201cBefore you get into the ring, you\u2019ve got to mentally beat them and that\u2019s how it is with students. You\u2019ve got to let them know you\u2019re going to be in charge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zak Chelli roars with joy after winning his fight with David Morrell. Photograph: Matt McNulty\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Chelli took charge of his brutal schooling of Morrell, but an insight into his intense challenge is sharpened by the fact that, this week, he is on holiday. He had no idea he would be fighting Morrell when, a month ago, he booked it for himself, his wife, Eliza, and their 18-month-old daughter in Tunisia \u2013 where his father and trainer, Zak Sr, was born. Their flights were the day after the fight.<\/p>\n

The light-heavyweight had won 16 of his previous 20 professional bouts and also been the British and Commonwealth champion at super-middleweight. He was far from being a journeyman, but it seems incredible that he could beat a fighter as good as Morrell at two weeks\u2019 notice while holding down a full-time job. The chance to test himself at world level came when Callum Smith, who was due to fight Morrell on 18 April, was injured. Chelli was asked if he was ready to step in at short notice and face Morrell on the undercard of the great heavyweight battle between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always training with my dad<\/a> after work,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019d train for four hours because my dad\u2019s always said to me an opportunity will come. We don\u2019t know who, when or where, but an opportunity will come because that\u2019s how boxing works. You\u2019ve got to be patient. When we found out Morrell was not going to be fighting Smith my dad went crazy on social media saying: \u2018Fight my son, he\u2019s the best.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought nothing of it until, on 27 April, I finally got a phone call saying the fight\u2019s going to happen. So for two weeks I was fully focused for it and that\u2019s when I made a video on my social media saying: \u2018I\u2019m going to knock him out, inshallah.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Chelli had real belief he could win because, since moving up to light-heavyweight, he has felt so much stronger. \u201cIn sparring I\u2019ve been dropping people. I started believing in myself more, thinking that if I catch anyone with this right hand, he\u2019ll go down.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was also driven by an almost desperate need to win. \u201cI needed it, not for myself, but for my wife and daughter because for two years since the fight in Barnsley [when he lost to Callum Simpson<\/a>], I didn\u2019t make a penny from boxing. I said: \u2018Even if I\u2019m there with one arm or one leg I\u2019m going to give it everything.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Chelli was trailing on the scorecards, but \u201cfrom the beginning I noticed he wasn\u2019t catching me with his jab. I was making him miss and he just went for the body. I was catching him with my right hand and I heard the commentator saying: \u2018Why is he stepping back?\u2019 He\u2019s stepping back because I hurt him.<\/p>\n

Zak Chelli: \u2018I started believing in myself more, thinking if I catch anyone with this right hand, he\u2019ll go down.\u2019 Photograph: Matt McNulty\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was winning some rounds, but I understand this is pro boxing. He\u2019s been a two-time world champion so if I don\u2019t knock him out they might cheat me. I was creeping up on him and near the end my dad was telling me: \u2018Unleash the right hand. Give him the pain.\u2019 That\u2019s what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

He could not celebrate for long because \u201cwe drove straight back to London after the fight as I had a flight to catch. My dad drove for four hours and I watched the knockout. I was like: \u2018Oh, goodness, I look scary.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Chelli also scrolled through \u201cthe thousands of messages I got. I\u2019m still replying to them all because I feel obligated. It was crazy because I\u2019ve had 1.2m views of my profile.\u201d<\/p>\n

He hopes to fight Smith next and eventually become a world champion, but insists he will remain a supply teacher. Chelli began teaching during Covid when his Italian mother persuaded him to find a proper job. He then resumed his teaching work in earnest after losing to Simpson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI go from school to school and take whatever lesson needs covering. I\u2019ll teach from GCSE to A-levels because I was a pretty academic student myself. I got 20 GCSEs, because I wanted to cover as much as I could and then I went to university and got a degree in business management.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boxing and education have always defined him and his older brother, Yahia. \u201cMy dad\u2019s been training us since we were kids. If you look at pictures you\u2019ll find me at just a week old with boxing gloves. My dad used to be a professional boxer and me and my brother were both ABA [Amateur Boxing<\/a> Association] champions. My brother was a GB champion as well, but when he turned 18 he decided to take an academic route and he\u2019s now completed his PhD in mechanical engineering.\u201d<\/p>\n

double quotation markI teach boxing to kids that have behaviour or special educational needs. It builds their confidence<\/p>\n

Chelli loves teaching, but are his students always receptive? \u201cUsually, there\u2019s one in the class who tries to mess you up and bring the others with them. But I take that student out and speak to them. They usually have an issue at home or they don\u2019t understand the work and probably need one-to-one assistance. Once they see you can help them it changes. There have been times when I\u2019ve had to bring out the deep voice to boys: \u2018Sit down, bags off the table or I\u2019m calling the principal.\u2019 But usually it\u2019s calm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also teach boxing to kids that have behaviour or special educational needs. It builds their confidence and communication skills. You need a lot of patience, but most of them are reaching their targets and enjoying it. It\u2019s rewarding for me, seeing that I can change lives for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

He adds that \u201cmy wife works for Chelsea Football Club as part of the marketing team and now we\u2019ve got a daughter, we\u2019ve found a way. She\u2019s lucky to work from home three days of the week and I can be a supply teacher three days a week and the other two days I\u2019ll just teach the boxing. And every night I\u2019m training.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Chelli, \u201cthe only issue is once the kids find out who I am then the whole school knows. Luckily, as a supply teacher, I change schools. I did work for one school for a whole term and whenever I walked down the corridors all the students would jump up and say: \u2018Hi, Mr Chelli.\u2019 Or you\u2019d hear them whispering: \u2018He\u2019s the boxer.\u2019 So it gets a bit chaotic.\u201d<\/p>\n

It almost sounds as if he would prefer a life of anonymity. \u201cYes. I\u2019ll say my name is Mr Jones and not tell them I\u2019m a boxer because it can get crazy if they find out who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Chelli will return to his temporary post at Thomas Knyvett next Thursday and there will be no chance of hiding his real identity or sudden burst of fame. \u201cI just hope it\u2019s not going to be hectic, with too much shouting,\u201d he says with a helpless grin. \u201cIf it\u2019s chilled and I can teach then I\u2019ll be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Last Saturday night in Manchester, Zak Chelli, a 28-year-old supply teacher from Fulham, produced one of the sporting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-583241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}