Ekoli Mahenge Zulu (November 21, 1965 – August 27, 2019) was an African-born, Italian boxer. He competed in the welterweight category.

Mahenge Zulu
Born
Ekoli Mahenge Zulu

(1965-11-21)November 21, 1965
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
DiedAugust 27, 2019(2019-08-27) (aged 53)
NationalityItalian
Statistics
Weight(s)Welterweight
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights21
Wins17
Wins by KO7
Losses3
Draws1
No contests0

Biography

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Mahenge Zulu was born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. He grew up in Pesaro, in the region of Marche, in Italy.

He started boxing at the age of 15 and made his professional debut at 25, later than most boxers. In 1996 he won the IBF Intercontinental welterweight title. He retired after his loss against Félix Trinidad in a 1998 fight for the IBF welterweight title[1] at the age of 33, ending his boxing career with a record of 17 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw.

He died of a heart attack on August 27, 2019, while on a flight to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly known as Zaire. He had suffered some heart and blood pressure issues days before and was warned by his doctor to not fly. Zulu was married to Emilia Bonse, who died in 2016. They have four daughters.[2]

An intelligent man, Zulu was fluent in four languages, including Italian and Spanish.[3]

Professional Boxing Record

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21 fights 17 wins 3 losses
By knockout 6 1
By decision 11 2
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
21 Loss 17–1–3   Félix Trinidad KO 4 (12), 2:31 Mar 3, 1998   Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez, Bayamón, Puerto Rico For IBF welterweight title
20 Win 17–1–2   Marino Monteyne UD 12 Aug 2, 1997   Pesaro, Italy
19 Win 16–1–2   Nico Toriri UD 12 Aug 17, 1996   Catanzaro, Italy Won IBF Intercontinental welterweight title
18 Win 15–1–2   Mirsad Ramusovic TKO 4 (10) Feb 1, 1996   Rome, Italy
17 Win 14–1–2   Tibor Horvath KO 6 (12) Dec 14, 1995   Valdagno, Italy
16 Win 13–1–2   Leri Dzebniauri UD 10 Oct 27, 1995   Pesaro, Italy
15 Win 12–1–2   Joszef Zoltan Nagy UD 10 Jul 22, 1995   Montelabbate, Italy
14 Win 11–1–2   Oleg Kolchanov UD 10 Aug 24, 1994   San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
13 Win 10–1–2   Lemark Davis UD 10 May 10, 1994   Echirolles, France
12 Win 9–1–2   Itoro Mkpanam UD 10 Sep 29, 1993   Palazzetto del Ghiaccio, Pesaro, Italy
11 Win 8–1–2   Csaba Csik TKO 6 (10) Mar 30, 1993   Pesaro, Italy
10 Draw 7–1–2   Curtis Summit TKO 10 Jun 13, 1992   Palais Marcel Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, France
9 Win 7–0–2   Gejza Stipak TKO 6 (8) May 30, 1992   Civitavecchia, Italy
8 Win 6–0–2   Judas Clottey TKO 1 (8), 2:54 May 30, 1992   Pesaro, Italy
7 Win 5–0–2   Piero Severini UD 8 Feb 19, 1992   San Pellegrino Terme, Italy
6 Win 4–0–2   Riccardo Fiore UD 8 Aug 24, 1991   Pesaro, Italy
5 Loss 3–0–2   Valentino Manca UD 6 Jul 27, 1991   Pesaro, Italy
4 Win 3–0–1   Khemissi Bahloul DQ 5 (6) Dec 21, 1990   Pesaro, Italy
3 Win 2–0–1   Imre Bacskai UD 4 Oct 12, 1990   Pesaro, Italy
2 Loss 1–0–1   Itoro Mkpanam UD 4 Aug 31, 1990   Rossano, Italy
1 Win 1–0–0   Nabil Tennoune KO 2 (4) Apr 27, 1990   Pesaro, Italy

References

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  1. ^ "Trinidad knocks out Zulu". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 4 April 1998. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  2. ^ "Tre giorni col mal di testa Poi muore di emorragia - Cronaca - ilrestodelcarlino.it".
  3. ^ "Felix Trinidad vs Mahenge Zulu - Showtime Championship Boxing April 13, 1998" – via www.youtube.com.
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