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Fulham’s Zak Chelli will face the undefeated Brazilian Diego ‘Dynamite’ Costa in an exciting super-middleweight showdown on the undercard of Savannah Marshall’s WBO World Middleweight Title defence against Femke Hermans this Saturday night at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle, exclusively live on Sky Sports.
Fulham’s Chelli, who works as a supply teacher in London, has finished his school week early as he heads to the North East for his big clash with the heavy-punching Manchester based Latino who is regarded as one of the most avoided fighters around the weight.
Chelli (10-1-1, 5 KO’s) and Costa (8-0, 5 KO’s) could have met in the BOXXER 7 Super-Middleweight tournament in November 2020, but the tournament was reduced to a unique four-man format and Costa didn’t feature due to illness.
However, Chelli put on a classy and powerful performance on the night to shut out Vladimir Georgiev on points in the semi-final, before dropping Mike McGoldrick three times on the way to a second round stoppage in the final.
Former Southern Area Champion Chelli’s last fight was in April last year when he travelled to Kiev and defeated Borden Harrkavyi with a third round stoppage.
KO king Costa is unbeaten eight fights with five KO’s, with four of those coming quick inside three rounds. He credits his love of salsa dancing for his quick feet and generating the power from his hips to knockout opponents.
Chelli is excited with the fight against Costa and is promising to take his unbeaten record. He said, “I was gutted that we didn’t fight on Boxxer 7, but things happen for a reason and it’s a much better fight now down the line. Costa’s unbeaten, he likes to come forward, have a fight and he can punch. I can’t wait for this Saturday in Newcastle and I’m going to take that ‘0’ off his record. The fans in Newcastle and the viewers watching on Sky Sports are going to be in for a real treat.”