By Ian S Palmer
Felix Sturm of Germany is set to take on Australia’s Sam Soliman in an IBF 12-round middleweight title eliminator at the SS Dome, in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany on Saturday Feb. 2. Sturm is a former three-time middleweight titleholder who is currently the top-ranked middleweight by the IBF. He lost his title in his last bout against Daniel Geale of Australia by a split decision in Germany last September. The winner is supposed to get a crack at Geale, who just defended his title against Anthony Mundine by unanimous decision on in Australia on Jan. 30.
The 39-year-old Soliman is as tough as they come, but he’s getting up there in age now. He’s been on a roll lately though with seven straight wins and hasn’t lost since he dropped a unanimous decision to fellow countryman Mundine back in May of 2008. He was also knocked out by Mundine in the ninth round a year earlier and lost to him by a split decision in 2001. He’s going to enter the ring with a record of 42-11 with 17 Kos. Some of his other losses have come against world-class fighters and former world champions such as Sakio Bika, Winky Wright, and Howard Eastman. He turned pro back in 1997 and got off to a rocky start by losing seven times in his first 19 bouts. He’s been stopped just once in his career and that was by Mundine.
The 33-year-old Sturm has a record of 37-3-2 with 16 Kos. He’s not the biggest puncher around, but has great boxing skills. He 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 bouts in Europe against European competition.
Sturm has a good chin and has taken everybody’s shots other than Castillejo’s, so it’s going to be a difficult task for Soliman to hurt him. Sturm will try to control him with his jab, footwork, and quick combinations while Soliman will just keep moving forward in his aggressive style and throw punches by the bunches.
At this stage in his career it’s hard to see Soliman upsetting Sturm. He’ll definitely give it a try, but he’s just a grade below the German when it comes to finesse and overall boxing skills. Sturm should be able to control the action and use his superior technique, jab, and footwork to win this bout by a decision. However, Soliman’s awkward should make this a tough fight for him. A late stoppage is also a possibility if Soliman tires down the stretch.
