Wardley vs Dubois Undercard Salvaged — Morrell vs Chelli, Jalolov vs Smakici Added In Manchester

• New co-main — David Morrell (12-0, 10 KOs) vs Zak Chelli (16-3-1, 8 KOs). Catchweight light-heavyweight, 12 rounds, WBA elimination implications
• Bakhodir Jalolov (15-0, 14 KOs) returns vs Croatia's Agron Smakici (18-3, 16 KOs). Heavyweight, 10 rounds — Jalolov's first fight on UK soil
• The reshuffle replaces the cancelled Anderson–Dacres co-feature after Jared Anderson tore his bicep in camp. Wardley–Dubois main event for the WBO heavyweight title remains unchanged

Morrell vs Chelli — The Real Co-Main

Make no mistake, this is the kind of replacement bout that improves the card. David Morrell, 12-0 with 10 KOs, is one of the most dangerous southpaws in world boxing. The Cuban has been WBA interim light-heavyweight champion, has stopped Radzhab Butaev and Sena Oshiro inside distance, and was last in a ring brutalising Callum Smith over twelve in Liverpool earlier this month. Morrell is a proper world-level operator. He travels — he's based out of Minneapolis but has fought in Mexico, Vegas and Liverpool — and at 27 he's right in his prime. Zak Chelli is the British super-middleweight who has rebuilt his career off three losses with five straight wins, including taking the British title in 2024. He's 16-3-1, 8 KOs, with a granite chin and the kind of throwback work rate that makes him hell to fight even when you're better than him. He's stepping up and stepping up in weight to take this one — but he's also stepping into the kind of name fight that resets a career on a Saturday night. The catchweight is being reported as 173lbs. That's a touch above super-middleweight and well below the 175 light-heavyweight limit. It favours Chelli on the climb and asks Morrell to come down a few pounds from his recent fighting weight. Both camps have signed.

Luke's Pick

Morrell's a level above. Chelli is brave, durable, and won't go down easy — but Morrell's hand speed and the angles his southpaw stance creates are a different proposition to anyone Chelli has been in with. Expect Chelli to take rounds early on the front foot, get tagged late, and either go on a heroic stoppage loss in 9 or 10 or hear the bell with a wide UD against him. Either way Morrell wins. I have it Morrell by stoppage in 10.

Jalolov vs Smakici — The Heavyweight Bonus

The other addition is fascinating. Bakhodir Jalolov is the giant Uzbek — 6'7", 280lbs in the Olympic ring — who won super-heavyweight gold at Tokyo and Paris and has been quietly assembling a 15-0 (14 KOs) professional record while waiting for a major opportunity. He's now signed with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom in his pro career, but Frank Warren has done the deal for him to fight in the UK on this Queensberry card as a one-off cross-promotional piece. That's a small political win for Warren on its own. Agron Smakici is a 33-year-old Croatian heavyweight with an 18-3 record (16 KOs). He's been in with Lukas Cimbal, Andrii Rudenko and a couple of European-circuit gatekeepers, and he's never been to the UK. Smakici is the right kind of professional opponent — he can punch, he's durable, but he's been stopped twice and he's not at the level of guys like Joyce or Hrgovic. For Jalolov this is a perfect second-tier UK debut.

Luke's Pick

Jalolov inside three. The size advantage alone is enormous, and Smakici has been stopped twice by lesser punchers than the Olympic gold medallist. Expect a chopping right hand, a body shot, and a stoppage somewhere between rounds 2 and 4. The interesting part is whether Jalolov's stamina holds up against a man specifically picked because he can survive — but that's a small ask.

The Card In Full

As of this morning the Wardley vs Dubois card looks like this: 1. Main event — Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois, WBO heavyweight title, 12 rounds 2. Co-main — David Morrell vs Zak Chelli, catchweight light-heavyweight, 12 rounds 3. Heavyweight chief support — Bakhodir Jalolov vs Agron Smakici, 10 rounds 4. Plus the previously announced Rafferty vs Essuman at welterweight, and the rest of the Queensberry domestic bill That's a proper UK pay-per-view card. Frank Warren has — in seven days — replaced a lost American heavyweight bout with a world-level light-heavyweight fight and a marquee Olympic heavyweight return. Make no mistake, that is exactly the kind of late-fix Queensberry has built its reputation on for 30 years.

Why This Card Matters Beyond The Heavyweight Belt

Let's not beat around the bush — the Anderson–Dacres collapse threatened to make this look like a one-fight pay-per-view. Heavyweight title fight on top, then a thin domestic undercard. That's a tough sell at £19.99. Now with Morrell vs Chelli locked in as a genuine 50/50 light-heavyweight test, plus an Olympic gold medallist heavyweight on the bill, the card has top-to-bottom intrigue. For Morrell, the Chelli fight is a stay-busy that keeps him in front of UK eyeballs for the second time in three months — useful for a fighter whose long-term plan includes a Bivol or Beterbiev fight in 2027. For Chelli, it's the most lucrative night of his career and a chance to upset a top-five contender in his own division. For Jalolov, it's a UK debut on a major broadcast — Sky Sports and TNT both carry the show — that turns him from a name on a forum into a fighter UK fans actually start watching.

The Verdict

Frank Warren has done what Frank Warren does. Anderson out, Morrell in. Bonus Olympic heavyweight added. Card improves. Pay-per-view sells. Wardley vs Dubois remains the headline act and is now sitting on top of a card that earns its sticker price. Brilliant work from the Queensberry matchmaking team. Manchester is going to be a proper night on May 9. The heavyweight title fight is the story — but the rebuilt undercard is the reason fans should buy in the first place. If you know, you know. Frank doesn't lose these salvage jobs.