By Ian S Palmer
Original article: https://www.sportsbetlistings.com/boxing/jack-cullen-vs-zak-chelli-betting-odds-and-prediction/22639/
Jack Cullen of Bolton, England puts his British and Commonwealth Super Middleweight Titles on the line this Saturday, January 20th when he takes on London’s Zak Chelli in Liverpool, England. Cullen last fought in September when he upset fellow Englishman Mark Heffron in the third round to win the belts while Chelli last saw action in September when he halted Jordan Grannum in the fourth round. Grannum entered the fight with a record of 8-124-5. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the UK and Ireland on Sky Sports Arena while fans in America can catch it on ESPN+. This is a rematch as Cullen and Chelli first met in August, 2020 and fought to a 10-round draw.
The 30-year-old Cullen is pretty tall for the 168-lb division as he’s 6-feet-3-inches with a reported 78-inch reach. He makes the ring walk with a record of 22-4-1 with 10 Ko’s and has boxed 136 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016 following his amateur career. Cullen has slightly below-average power as 45.5 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he went the distance in six straight fights before stopping Heffron the last time out. His previous KO came in March, 2020 when he halted Thomas Reynoso in the second round.
On the other side of the coin, Cullen has been stopped in all four of his losses as Roy Sheahan halted him in the first round in 2018, Felix Cash took care of him in eight rounds in 2019 in a shot at the Commonwealth Middleweight Title and Kevin Lele Sadjo halted him in six rounds in 2021 in a shot at the vacant European Super Middleweight Belt. He was then stopped by Diego Pacheco last March in the fourth round in a shot at the vacant WBO International Super Middleweight Title.
In July, 2021 Cullen captured the vacant IBF Super Middleweight Crown with a 10-round unanimous decision over Avni Yildirim and he toppled Jack Sellars in 2019 for the vacant British Middleweight Title. Twelve of Cullen’s 27 opponents entered the ring with losing records and he’s never fought outside of the British Isles as a pro.
Chelli is 26 years old and carries around a mark of 14-2-1 with 7 Ko’s and has an even 100 rounds of pro experience under his belt since making his debut in 2017. As an amateur he reached the quarterfinals of the 2016 English ABAE National Championships and the final of the 2015 England Youth National Championships. At 6-feet-tall, the former school teacher gives up three inches in height to Cullen but unfortunately has an unlisted reach.
He won the vacant British Southern Area Super Middleweight Title in 2019 with a decision over Jimmy Smith and became British Super Middleweight Champion in June 2022 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Germaine Brown. However he lost that belt to Mark Jeffers last July by 10-round unanimous decision. His first defeat had come back in 2019 when he dropped Kody Davies in the second round but lost a 10-round unanimous decision.
As far as power is concerned, 50 per cent of Chelli’s victories have come by way of stoppage including four of his last six wins. He hasn’t exactly fought the top dogs of his division though as his biggest wins have been against the likes of Mike McGoldrick, Jack Kilgannon and Anthony Sims Jr. He did perform well in the 2020 draw with Cullen though and should have gained some confidence from that result.
Prediction…
Cullen has a decent size advantage but has been stopped in all four of his defeats so his punch resistance isn’t the greatest. He upset Mark Heffron just a few months ago though to win his titles and should be quite confident even though Chelli held him to a draw in their first fight. This fight could very well end before it reaches the distance if Chelli catches him and that’s going to be a key ingredient of this fight. If Cullen manages to evade Chelli’s power he has the skills to retain the belts and that’s what makes this an interesting matchup. It could go either way but I think Cullen will do just enough to earn a win.
