Real humans, real stories.
Real young people. Real coaches. Real change. Names changed where consent isn't on file.
Our stories are coming soon
We're putting our stories together. For now, here's one we couldn't wait to share.
Supply teacher by day. Champion by night.
When Callum Smith pulled out, Zak Chelli took the fight — on a fortnight's notice, against David Morrell: a former world-title challenger and one of the most dangerous operators in the light-heavyweight division, beaten only once, by the elite David Benavidez. Morrell was the heavy favourite. He controlled the early rounds. Then in the ninth he was rocked, and in the tenth Chelli finished it — the referee stepping in to wave it off. A 28-year-old supply teacher from Fulham had just produced his own Rocky moment, and one of the upsets of the year.
Most days you won't find Chelli in an arena. You'll find him at the front of a classroom. "I will go to any school that needs me for the day. I'll teach any subject — maths, music, history, even some drama," he says. The two worlds aren't as far apart as they look: "You listen to your trainer the same way you listen to your teacher. Practise, work hard enough for when the test comes, and you'll do well. It's the same for both worlds." English, British and Commonwealth honours already sit behind him — and after Manchester, a world-title shot is suddenly in view.
Boxing is Chelli's gold standard, and it's the thread that connects him to Time Out Boxing — going school to school, using the sport to spark positive change in young people's lives. He's blunt about why it works: the pupils who skip their other lessons are the ones who show up for boxing. "Hopefully it teaches them a bit of discipline and order for life. They'll attend their boxing lessons, so I try to encourage them — I can give back this way." It's the same belief that drives everything we do: a coach who turns up, consistently, can change a young person's path.
The fairy-tale headline hides the grind underneath. Chelli hadn't been paid by boxing in two years — funding his own English-title campaign out of his own pocket, working in schools, training every night because, as he puts it, his dad made him. That's the lesson he carries into every session he runs: take your chance, do the work, and trust it'll be worth it. Next in his sights — Callum Smith, and the world title he believes he's earned.