Morrell to make unexpected appearance on Wardley-Dubois undercard.
Within the past few weeks, some major boxing events have been dealt some massive blows in the way of fighters pulling out.
And in the instances of this, it was a fighter who featured at or near the top of the bill each time.
First, Callum Smith pulled out of his fight with David Morrell in Liverpool due to injury, then Lawrence Okolie was forced to withdraw from his fight with Tony Yoka after failing a drug test (which collapsed the event entirely).
The other night, it was announced that Jared Anderson had suffered an injury that forced him out of his bout with Solomon Dacres in the co-main event to Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois. And earlier today, Dalton Smith’s title defence against Alberto Puello was cancelled after Smith also suffered an injury.
A pullout is news no boxing fan wants to hear, but it has come at us several times recently. And as a result, some big shows have been impacted in different ways.
We are now getting word that David Morrell (12-1, 9 KOs) has agreed on a deal to face Zak Chelli (16-3-1, 8 KOs) on the Wardley-Dubois undercard.
Chelli is a domestic operator on the British scene who won the Southern Area, English, British, and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles. He has fought recognisable names such as Callum Simpson, Jack Cullen, and Mark Jeffers.
Last time out, Chelli won the vacant English light-heavyweight title by knocking out Adam Hepple.
Morrell vs. Chelli is scheduled for 10 rounds and will be taking place at a contracted weight of 178 pounds, according to Dan Rafael.
It is currently uncertain if it will be taking up the slot as the new co-main event for Wardley-Dubois, with it having been heavily rumoured that Tony Yoka would be facing Dacres as a replacement for Anderson.
We await an official announcement from Queensberry Promotions.
News: Per source, a deal is in place for light heavyweight contender David Morrell to face Zak Chelli in a 10-rounder on Queensberry’s #WardleyDubois card on May 9 in Manchester #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) April 27, 2026
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