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.