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Zak Chelli refuses to be a reserve in his title defense

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While Callum Simpson signed autographs on his gloves, posed for photos and picked out familiar faces in the crowd, Zak Chelli strolled around Barnsley’s Glass Works shopping centre, almost unnoticed, leading up to Thursday’s outdoor training session.

The Londoner has travelled north to defend his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles against the unbeaten Simpson, and while his name is front and centre on the fight poster, Chelli is under no illusions that he will be the star of the weekend.

On Saturday night, the city’s Oakwell Stadium will be packed with 7,000 Simpson fans who bought tickets for the crowning of a recent champion, not the fight.

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

The unique setting is unlikely to sway Chelli. The 26-year-old was touted as someone to watch before he turned pro, but has truly made a name for himself in the bizarre, COVID-hit era of boxing behind closed doors. Chelli fought Jack Cullen to a disputed draw on the Matchroom Boxing turf, then won a one-day tournament in front of a handful of invited guests and masked officials in a TV studio.

It will be a lot louder on Saturday night, but Chelli has been waiting his entire career for this moment and he won’t let a hostile crowd spoil his fun.

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

“[I’ve waited for something like this] since I started boxing, so my whole life. I’ve been boxing for seven or eight years. When I beat him in front of everyone – God willing – it will be a substantial thing for me and put me on an even bigger platform.”

Chelli has an awkward, unusual style and can lull opponents with his rhythm. The usually aggressive Cullen seemed almost hypnotized when Chelli stripped him of the British and Commonwealth titles in a rematch in January.

Simpson, 14-0 (10 KO), knows that keeping his composure in the cacophonous atmosphere will be key to success, but Chelli knows that if he starts well, the pressure will start to build on the local fighter, and instead of pushing him towards glory, the expectation of significant support could start to overwhelm him.

“I think so. Especially since he’s going to want to prove something in front of all his fans. He might end up throwing himself at shots. We’ll see how it goes tonight,” Chelli said.

“I’m pretty good at dodging shots and running away. Let’s see how he does with that.

“I’ve got a great jab, too. A great double jab. A good left hook. A great body shot. He’ll be surprised to see what comes of it. You can’t get to the British title level with just one right hook.”

Simpson has racked up four impressive wins since emerging on Sky Sports as the undefeated Area champion less than 18 months ago, but for a relatively inexperienced fighter to be given the opportunity to perform on such a substantial stage is incredibly scarce.

Chelli’s career has had its ups and downs, but although he only had four more professional fights than Simpson, he boxed at a higher level and collected the scars that only come from tough competition. Chelli lost just once in five years – to the excellent Mark Jeffers – and only a solid domestic fighter would have scored victories over Germaine Brown, Jack Kilgannon, Anthony Simms Jnr and Cullen.

As talented as Simpson is, he’ll step into the ring Saturday night with plenty of questions to answer. Chelli will enter the ring with the confidence of a champion and the belief that he’s better prepared if the fight becomes a hard-fought battle of sweeps and sweeps.

“I’ll be his toughest test. I think he’s jumped into the deep end early on. I’ve had tough fights from the start – 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’ve won the Southern Area title, the English title and the WBA Intercontinental titles and now I’m British and Commonwealth champion. I’ve taken the rigid steps. Hopefully the next one will be from British to European and world.”

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Boxing

Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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