Zak Chelli will be channelling the spirit of ‘Rocky IV’ when he defends his British and Commonwealth titles in Callum Simpson’s hometown of Barnsley on Saturday.
The climax to the 1985 film saw title character Rocky Balboa travel to Russia to defeat the seemingly unstoppable Ivan Drago, turning the crowd from baying for his blood to cheering for him as he triumphed.
Domestic super-middleweight king Chelli knows he will face a hostile reception when he faces Simpson in his own back yard at Oakwell Stadium as well, live on Sky Sports, but has vowed to either swing the crowd in his favour or silence them.
“I’m going have 7,000 people hating me, but I’m imagining it’s going to be a ‘Rocky’ moment when he goes to Russia and wins, and they all start supporting Rocky,” Chelli told Sky Sports News.
“It will probably be like that – or it will be nice, lovely silence once I’ve knocked him out.
“I think that would push me forward to show I’ve got the cojones to fight in front of a home crowd of another fighter and destroy him in front of everyone.
“The way I see it, he’s trying to take away everything I’ve built, and I want to give him a night of pain.”
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New British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Zak Chelli’s post-fight interview was all about his father and trainer stealing the limelight
Chelli (15-2-1 (7)) will be headlining in Barnsley, having claimed the British and Commonwealth belts last time out with a unanimous decision win over Jack Cullen in the chief support bout on January’s Natasha Jonas vs Mikaela Mayer undercard.
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Zak Chelli faces mandatory challenger Callum Simpson on August 3 live on Sky Sports. Chelli will be defending both his British and Commonwealth super middleweight titles at Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium
Although still only 26, the Fulham fighter has been training for these big nights since an early age under the guidance of his ex-boxer father, Zak Chelli Snr, and he is in no doubt he has the beating of unbeaten mandatory challenger Simpson (14-0 (10)).
“The hard work has paid off,” Chelli said. “Main event is a big thing for me after working hard all my life. I’ve been a boxer since I was three years old and to be a main event is a really big thing.
“From my primary school days, running home from school and going to the gym, my secondary school days of missing the bus so I had to run home.
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British super-middleweight champion Zak Chelli faced off with challenger Callum Simpson for the first time at Barnsley’s Oakwell stadium
“Even when I was at university, I was missing all of the parties and just studying and training in the gym.
“I feel he’s a very marketable man and they’ve taken a chance on him. If he does go far, they can build him really well, but they’ve taken a bad gamble and I’m the one they should have bet on.”
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Watch Zak Chelli vs Callum Simpson bill live on Sky Sports Action from 7.30pm on Saturday August 3.