A few hours earlier, the 28-year-old Cuban had been put to sleep on his feet by one final punishing right hand from the 10/1 underdog. It was a punch that sent a shockwave through the entire light heavyweight division.

Morrell had only been in Manchester for a so-called “stay busy” fight after his scheduled clash with Callum Smith for the WBO interim title four weeks earlier was canceled due to an injury to the Englishman. Chelli, another Brit, was drafted in but very few outside of his close-knit team expected anything other than a Morrell win.

Chelli, 28, was behind on the cards in the ninth when he wobbled Morrell, then The Ring’s No. 5 175-pound fighter, with less than 30 seconds to go. Many assumed the bell had denied the former British and Commonwealth super middleweight champion an upset for the ages, but his father-trainer, Zakaria, knew the pain had only just begun for Morrell.

After instructing his son to “cook” his more-feted opponent throughout the fight, the time was right to serve.

“It’s just like roasting a chicken,” a beaming Chelli later told The Ring. “You can’t take it out too early, you can only take it out once it’s ready to eat.”

And Chelli feasted on Morrell in the 10th and final round, producing the most chilling finish of his career with just 36 seconds left. And with that, the landscape of the division was changed completely. As a result of Chelli's win, he is ranked No. 10 by The Ring at 175.

He knew it was a big victory, of course, but Chelli did not arrive in Manchester expecting to lose. In fact, he had told The Ring a few days earlier that he actually “needed to win." That’s what they all say, of course, but Chelli really meant it.

There would be no huge celebration afterwards with a flight to Tunisia booked for 1 p.m. the next day. Instead Zakaria drove his two sons back down south, dropping Yaharia in Birmingham before carrying on to London. It gave Zak, the eldest by two years, his first chance to look at the response online.

“I remember thinking beforehand that if I lost it would be a silent, awkward journey home,” he says. “But thankfully that wasn’t the case.

“I was just looking on the Internet because I was getting bombarded with messages on my phone. It was ping, ping, ping. I didn’t really think about how much of an impact the win had made.

“I also hadn’t seen a replay of the knockout until I got in the car so when the clip came up I realized how dangerous I looked. If the ref hadn’t jumped in I was just going to keep punching until he fell to the floor.

“I had been cooking him round by round, making him waste his energy and making sure I get the right show. He wasn’t hurting me at all so I kept doing what I was doing then bang, perfect timing, cooked.”

Once he was in London, it was a quick turnaround before he and his young family headed to Gatwick for their flight to Tunisia. The trip, which was booked before Smith had even pulled out of his fight with Morrell, means Chelli is yet to return to his day job as a supply teacher.

“I told the kids at school that I'm not going to be here next week because I'm going to be in fight week so they asked who I was fighting," he said. "I showed them some videos of Morrell and they said, 'Woah, this guy’s dangerous.' But then they said to me, 'I'm sorry, but don't come back if you lose.' I told them there and then, 'Don't worry, I'm not going to lose.’”

The stunning victory has breathed new life into Chelli’s career, which was dealt a disastrous blow in August 2024 when Callum Simpson relieved him of his British and Commonwealth titles. He has boxed just once since that night when he made his debut at light heavyweight in June. Chelli won but was £400 out of pocket for the whole occasion.

“I had to pay for my own medicals and everything,” he said. “I just had to get back in the ring and it cost me money to do so.

“That was a year ago now and I thought it would be a steppingstone to bigger things, but no opportunities came. My dad was telling me every single day to carry on and that my chance was coming. I just trusted my dad and, Alhamdulillah [praise be to God], the opportunity came.”

Chelli is hoping to receive the sort of opportunities that Morrell had lined up. Before the fight, he'd expected his clash with Smith to be rearranged. Chelli has called on the sanctioning body to hand him the chance to face the Liverpudlian for the belt instead.

“If Morrell was meant to fight Callum Smith for the interim title next then that’s what I want,” Chelli said. “I’ve seen people say about fighting Canelo [Alvarez], David Benavidez or Ben Whittaker but I want Callum Smith next.

“They should really come to me because I’ve beaten Morrell and I have earned what he was meant to have. I beat him in good style and knocked him out. Not even Benavidez could do that to him.”

Chelli already knows all about Smith (31-2, 22 KOs), a 36-year-old former super-middleweight world champion, after they sparred in late 2023. Just like Morrell, it required a long drive up north but Chelli believes that trip was equally valuable.

“I remember I left my house at 4 a.m. and got up there for 10 a.m. so we could spar in Liverpool,” Chelli said. “He was preparing to fight Artur Beterbiev and I was preparing to fight Jack Cullen a week later.

“We did six rounds, I beat him up for six rounds and then I got back in the car and drove home. The next day, his trainer calls and says they want to spar again, but this time for eight rounds. So I get back in the car at 4 a.m. and drive up there again. We were supposed to do eight but after six he’s like, 'No more.' So I’m pretty confident I can beat this guy.

“Once that was done, I just got back in the car and drove home.”

For Chelli, after one of the biggest upsets of the decade, the journey continues.