By Ian S Palmer
WBA Super Middleweight Champion Tyron Zeuge of Germany will be defending his title in a rematch against Isaac Ekpo of Nigeria in Wilhelmsburg, Germany this Saturday, March 24th The two originally met last March when Zeuge won a technical decision after five rounds. The fight was stopped due to an accidental headbutt suffered by the champion and he was ahead 49-46, 49-47 and 48-47 at the time of the stoppage. Zeuge’s last fight was in June when he beat Paul Smith by unanimous decision and Ekpo’s last outing was in October when he stopped Philip Kotey in the fourth round. This rematch was scheduled for last December, but pushed back after Zeuge became ill.
The 25-year-old Zeuge has a near-perfect record of 21-0-1 along with 11 Kos. He won the title by a 12th-round knockout in a rematch with Giovanni De Carolis in November of 2016 after fighting to a draw with him just four months earlier. He then the defended the crown against Ekpo and Smith. Zeuge turned pro back in 2012 and has boxed 157 rounds since then. The native of Berlin had a distinguished amateur career and has also won the WBO Youth, IBF International, and Global Boxing Union World Super Middleweight Titles.
Zeuge stands just over 5-feet-10-inches tall and has an unlisted reach. He isn’t known as a powerful puncher with a current knockout ratio of 50 per cent. He’s taken on mainly European opponents with all of his bouts being held in Germany. The only familiar names to most boxing fans are probably Smith and perhaps Ekpo. Zeuge is still quite young and has fine boxing skills to go along with a solid chin, but he’s basically unknown outside of Europe.
Ekpo is now 35 years old and he’ll climb into the ring with a record of 32-3 along with 25 Kos. He’s boxed 215 rounds since turning pro back in 2005. He’s an inch taller than the champion at just over 5-foot-11and his reach is also unlisted. He’s got more power in his punches than Zeuge with a current knockout ratio of 71 per cent. Ekpo’s three losses have been at the hands of Robert Stieglitz by 12-round unanimous decision in 2013, an 11th-round TKO to Charles Chisamba in 2008 and last year’s defeat to Zeuge.
Other than Stieglitz, Zeuge and Kotey, most fans probably won’t recognize any of Ekpo’s other opponents. He was stopped once, but that was 10 years ago now, so he’s proven to have a good chin. He fought in the 2004 Olympics in Athens as a light heavyweight and has held the West African Boxing Union Super Middleweight Title and Nigerian Light Heavyweight Title as a pro. He should have some confidence heading into the rematch considering how he performed in the first fight, but he was still trailing on all the cards.
Prediction…
This is another evenly-matched bout and the champion has the edge due to his age and fighting at home. He may not have the power to stop Ekpo, but should have the skills to retain his belt for the third time via a decision.
