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Forgotten Warriors: Norbert Ekassi


BoztheMadman
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Not many have heard of this guy, but the most ardent Johnny Nelson fans know of him as the only man to stop Nelson, in his long and coveted career. Ekassi was a hard-hitting, tall and strong cruiserweight, who came to win by knockout and often succeeded. Of his 23 wins, 21 were within the distance. He also experienced 5 losses, 1 by disqualification, 1 on points and 3 by ko. After failing to take the European title in devastating fashion, his career and life were cut short by a tragic accident and he died at the age of 29.

 

Ekassi was born 25 October 1966 in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. At some point, he moved to Levallois-Perret in France and started training boxing. He made his pro debut at the age of 20, 7 November 1986, drawing in a 6-round bout against Didier Macrez. He then scored a TKO1 against Abdelkrim Bahi, before experiencing his first loss and getting stopped by TKO4 by unheralded Serge Bolivard. He also lost his next fight, but this time on points, against Eric Nicoletta. He then stopped the future European champion Akim Tafer in his next fight, by TKO3, in what was Tafer's pro debut. He won 4 more fights, 3 by ko, before losing again, by a disqualification in 4 against Mohamed Zaoui. In his next fight, in April '89, he went to Holland to fight John Emmen and was stopped by TKO5. He then started a winning streak of 16 fights. He defeated Franco Wanyama, another guy that holds a win over Johnny Nelson, by an impressive KO2 in October '90. After putting together 8 straight wins, he was matched against Johnny Nelson, back then still considered an underachiever and a dark horse, but also the best British cruiserweight at the time. The date was 14 August 1992 and the place Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica. Ekassi started aggressively from the bell and fought bobbing and weaving, while Nelson measured him with his long jab. Nelson looked like technically the better fighter while Ekassi kept lunging in without much success. Ekassi continued with his mauling approach in the second round and he started landing some good, clean pnnches against a defensive Nelson. Late in the round, Nelson landed a right and then a big left hook that put Ekassi down. He got up rather quickly and went back at it, showing no signs of real damage. He finished the round strong and then in the next round he started landing hard lefts and rights against Nelson who was again on the ropes. Nelson started to hold and Ekassi started really teeing off on him and Nelson held on for dear life. Finally, a hard right to the side of the head put Nelson down. Although he ultimately beat the count, the referee decided he was in no condition to continue and so, a rather big upset had happened.

 

The Cameroonian destroyer moved on and continued to win, decisioning the former IBF champion James Warring by UD10 and stopping the 3-division contender and title challenger Vincent Boulware by KO1, in November '93 and February '94 respectively. He also scored a victory over the former Orlin Norris-challenger Marcelo Victor Figueroa, winning by TKO6 at home in Levallois-Perret, in October '94. And then came the downfall. He landed a fight for the vacant European title against Alexander Gurov of Ukraine, the tallest cruiserweight back then and a dangerous puncher also. Gurov was also undefeated at 12-0-1, but wasn't that well known. The fight happened at Palais Marcel Cerdan, Levallois-Perret, 17 January '95. Although Ekassi was listed at 6'3, he looked closer to 6'2 against the 6'3 Nelson, which means he was 3 and a half inches shorter than the 6'5 Gurov. The fight started incredibly furiously as the two traded wildly and Gurov's longer arms proved to be the decisive factor. As Ekassi broke free from a clinch, he was hit with a big uppercut right on the jaw and fell down. He got up quickly but looked like all the steam had gone out of him. Gurov then landed some more punches and Ekassi fell after that, apparently from exhaustion as much as punishment. As he stumbled onto his feet, the referee took one look at him and waved it off. The time was 1 minute 18 seconds. For some reason, Ekassi started looking tired even before his first knockdown and it seems he just wasn't in shape. He had what would turn out to be his last fight on 27 June that year, beating the 15-28-1 Keith McMurray by a TKO1.

 

He was famous/infamous for his outbursts of rage and on Christmas Day that same year, he punched in the glass door of his house and a glass shard severed the artery on his right hand, which led him to bleed to death before ambulance could save him. He was only 29. His life had been like his ring career: short and violent. He left more to be desired, as his career was nowhere near finished. He will always be known as the only guy to stop Johnny Nelson and as the guy who brought exciting fights, a kill or be killed type fighter. For that, he is a FORGOTTEN WARRIOR!

 

NorbertEkassi.jpg

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