Zak Chelli Looses Belts To Callum Simpson In Barnsley Battle

Joseph Hammond | Aug 6, 2024

Zak Chelli lost his UK and Commonwealth titles / BOXXER

By Joseph Hammond

Zak Chelli lost his British and Commonwealth Super-Middleweight Championship belts to mandatory challenger Callum Simpson this past weekend. 

Chelli travelled to Barnsley, England, Simpson's hometown, for the August 3rd fight. It could not have been a more hostile atmosphere in the Oakwell Stadium. The outdoor venue is usually used for football and t

Simpson had Chelli late in the first round with a powerful right hand. Chelli didn't go down and was trading at the bell, but it set the tone for what was to come.

Simpson showed aggression and athleticism as he stalked Chelli. With seconds left in the fight, Chelli, seeming to know his title was on the line and needing a knockout. The Londoner threw everything into one final assault with strong shots to Simpson’s body that failed to drop the challenger.

The official scores were  118-111, 118-110, and 117-111. While Simpson got the better of Chelli, the wide margin in the scores may reflect that Chelli was fighting in front of an unsympathetic crowd.

The fight occurred in Oakwell Stadium, an outdoor venue usually used for professional football in front of a very pro-Simpson crowd.

"I am looking forward to a rest and a holiday [here] with my wife and then back to boxing," he said in an interview author from his Italian ho

Chelli comes from a family with strong ties to Italy and boxing. His father was a national boxing champion in Tunisia before moving to Italy, where he also won a title. The senior Chelli then moved to the United Kingdom, not before meeting Zak's mother, a Neapolitan woman.

In the ring on the night it was all Simpson who made his plans for his championship era very clear:

"I want to prove I'm the best in this division.

"I want to win the British title outright."

"Once I've cleaned up domestically, then we'll push on."

He said in the televised broadcast