By Ian S. Palmer
WBA Middleweight Champion Felix Sturm will be facing off against IBF title holder Daniel Geale at the Koenig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany on Sat. Sept. 1 in a title unification bout. Sturm, who’s been the WBA king for the past five years, will be fighting for the first time in a unification match and will have his hands full with the 31-year-old Geale of Australia.
Life will go on as usual for the 33-year-old Sturm if he wins, bit a victory for Geale would propel him into the elite class and open up the doors for big-name fights and paydays. Sturm, who hails from Germany, has been a good champion over the years as his record of 37-2-2 attests to. However, with just 16 knockouts in his career, he’s not the biggest puncher around. He’s about 6-feet tall, which is pretty decent for a middleweight.
Geale isn’t really known as a heavy hitter either with his record of 27-1, 1with 15 KOs and he measures in at 5-feet-10. Geale’s been fighting in relative obscurity for most of his career, but has made a bit of a name for himself over the past couple of years. He’s very determined and skilled, just like Sturm, but he hasn’t faced the same level of opposition that the German has.
Felix Sturm
Sturm turned pro back in 2001 and has fought some name opponents over the years such as Oscar De La Hoya, Javier Castillejo, Ronald Hearns, Matthew Macklin, and Sebastian Zbik. His losses came via a unanimous decision to De La Hoya back in 2004 and a 10-round TKO at the hands of Castillejo in 2006. He then beat Castillejo in a rematch a year later by unanimous decision. However, Sturm has fought most of his career in Europe against European competition.
Geale turned pro in 2004 and his only loss was to fellow countryman Anthony Mundine, who beat him by a split decision in 2009. The only other name on his resume that may be recognizable by most North American fans is Roman Karmazin. He’s only fought outside of Australia once before, which was also in Germany last year when he beat Sebastian Sylvester by split decision to win the IBF title. He’s defended it twice since then, both unanimous decisions against B grade opposition. His last bout was against Osumanu Adama in March. Sturm’s last bout took place in April, when Sebastian Zbik didn’t answer the bell for the ninth round.
For Geale to have a realistic shot as unifying the titles in Germany, he’s probably going to have to stop Sturm or at least drop him a couple of times. However, Sturm has a good chin and has taken everybody’s shots other than Castillejo’s, so it’s going to be a difficult task. Sturm’s also the better boxer, which means Geale really needs to turn this boxing match into a brawl if he can. Geale is going to have to be the aggressor right from the get-go and can’t afford to take a round off.
Geale will have to try to get inside while Sturm will try to control him with his jab, footwork, and quick combinations. If Geale lands any big shots he’ll have to keep up the attack if he feels he hurts Sturm and make sure he doesn’t let him off the hook. Even though Sturm’s the better boxer, he has had a few lapses recently. If he’s not at the top of his game here he could be in trouble. But when all is said and done, look for him to unify the titles by a decision.
