# Mahenge Zulu

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

## Biography

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

## Professional Boxing Record

| 21 fights | 17 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 1 |
| By decision | 11 | 2 |
| Draws | 1 | 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 | |