Zak Chelli Stops David Morrell in Major Upset

Chelli rallies late with pressure and body shots to stop Morrell in the 10th round in Manchester

Zak Chelli (17-3-1, 9 KOs) rallied late to stop David Morrell (12-2, 9 KOs) in the 10th round Saturday night in Manchester after trailing on the scorecards. Chelli gradually broke Morrell down with pressure and body shots before forcing referee Darren Sarginson to stop the fight.

Morrell controlled large stretches of the fight early. Fighting from the southpaw stance, he established the jab, stepped around well, and landed the cleaner combinations from range. He kept Chelli reaching with single shots and repeatedly beat him to the punch with straight left hands and quick counters.

Chelli stayed disciplined and kept pressing forward. He worked behind the jab when he could, stayed patient, and continued digging downstairs to slow Morrell’s movement. Even while losing rounds, he kept trying to close the distance and force exchanges at close range.

By the middle rounds, Morrell still appeared ahead, boxing comfortably and picking spots cleanly, but Chelli kept forcing him to work. The pace and pressure gradually started taking something out of Morrell’s legs as Chelli stayed in front of him and kept touching the body.

Everything changed in the final round.

Chelli finally broke through after landing heavy shots that backed Morrell toward the ropes. Once he had him there, he stayed on him with hooks and straight shots in combination, forcing Morrell into survival mode. Morrell tried to fire back, but the punches lost their snap as Chelli kept punching through the target.

Sensing Morrell was hurt, Chelli stepped in and unloaded again, pinning the Cuban in the corner and landing clean shots with both hands. Morrell stopped answering consistently and struggled to defend himself as the punches continued to land.

Referee Darren Sarginson stepped in at 2:24 of the tenth round to stop the fight.

The stoppage gave Chelli the biggest win of his career after a fight where he stayed composed, trusted his pressure, and broke Morrell down late. Morrell boxed well for long stretches, but he couldn’t keep Chelli off him once the fight turned into close-range exchanges in the final round.

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