Felix Sturm

Felix Sturm
Sturm in 2012
Statistics
Real name	Adnan Ćatić
Nickname(s)	The Fighter
Rated at	Middleweight Super-middleweight
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Reach	185 cm (73 in)
Nationality	German
Born	(1979-01-31) 31 January 1979 Leverkusen, West Germany
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	48
Wins	39
Wins by KO	18
Losses	5
Draws	3
No contests	1

Felix Sturm (born Adnan Ćatić; 31 January 1979) is a German professional boxer who currently fights at super-middleweight. He is a former IBF, WBO, WBA and WBA (Super) middleweight champion.

Amateur career

Highlights included:

• 1997 2nd place at Light Middleweight in German National Championships, losing to Jürgen Brähmer on points
• 1998 German National Light Middleweight champion, defeating Jorg Rosomkiewicz
• 1999 competed at the World Championships in Houston, United States; as a Light Middleweight. Results were:
  • Defeated Andrei Tsurkan (Ukraine) points
  • Lost to Yermakhan Ibraimov (Kazakhstan) points
• 1999 German National Light Middleweight champion, defeating Jorg Rosomkiewicz
• 2000 1st place at Light Middleweight at European Championships in Tampere, Finland. Results were:
  • Defeated Karoly Balzsay (Hungary) points
  • Defeated Miroslaw Nowosada (Poland) points
  • Defeated Dmitri Usagin (Bulgaria) points
  • Defeated Andrei Mishin (Russia) 3-1
• Represented Germany at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Results were:
  • Defeated Dilshod Yarbekov (Uzbekistan) points
  • Defeated Richard Rowles (Australia) TKO 3
  • Lost to Jermain Taylor (United States) points

Professional career

Main article: Felix Sturm vs. Oscar De La Hoya

On 27 January 2001, Sturm made his debut as a professional boxer facing Antonio Ribeiro from Angola. Six months earlier he had qualified for the Olympic Games in Sydney, but lost his fight to future middleweight champ Jermain Taylor.

After 16 successful matches, Sturm won the WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title on 10 May 2003. On 13 September 2003, he replaced the injured Bert Schenk in a WBO title bout against Argentinian Hectór Javier Velazco and won the match. Sturm defended the title against Rubén Varón Fernández from Spain.

On 5 June 2004 in Las Vegas, Sturm faced Oscar De La Hoya in a defense of his WBO middleweight championship. All three judges scored the fight 115-113 for De La Hoya, while Harold Lederman scored the fight 115-113 for Sturm. Compubox counted Sturm as landing 234 of 541 punches, while counting De La Hoya as landing 188 of 792. Sturm protested the decision with the Nevada Athletic Commission to no avail.

On 11 March 2006, Sturm defeated Maselino Masoe for the WBA middleweight title by a unanimous decision. Sturm then lost his title against former champion Javier Castillejo via TKO on 15 July 2006 but won it back from Castillejo in a rematch on 28 April 2007 by a twelve round unanimous decision in Oberhausen, which he earned after defeating Gavin Topp by TKO in the sixth round.

Sturm became a three-time world champion after defeating Castillejo in the rematch.

He also fought Randy Griffin twice, drawing with him in their first fight and winning their second fight by unanimous decision.

On November 2, 2008, Sturm retained his WBA middleweight title via unanimous decision (118-110, 118-110 and 119-109) over Sebastian Sylvester. He improved to 31-2, with one draw, while Sylvester fell to 31-3.

On July 11, 2009 he defended his title against Khoren Gevor in Nuerburg, Germany in 12 rounds.

After over a year of inactivity Sturm came back to defend his WBA title against Giovanni Lorenzo, with the winner becoming the WBA "Super" champion. Sturm defeated Lorenzo by a twelve round unanimous decision with the judges giving a comfortable 117-111 twice and 118-111 on the scorecards.

Sturm vs. Macklin

On the 25th of June 2011 he defended his title in the Lanxness Arena against Matthew Macklin of Ireland. Sturm got off to a slow start and absorbed many heavy blows in the first few rounds. Sturm came back strongly however and kept the fight competitive in the middle rounds. Macklin however closed strongly and the fight went to the cards. Sturm would win by a close split decision, something that was heavily criticized by the boxing media, who felt that Macklin had done enough to win the title.

Sturm vs. Murray

Sturm would finish 2011 by challenging British contender Martin Murray. This bout proved competitive with both men having their share of high moments. Sturm would go on to retain his title via a draw, a result that appeared unfair to most.

In his latest fight on April 13, 2012, Sturm beat Sebastian Zbik via brutal TKO in the 9th round something WBC Champion Julio César Chávez, Jr. was not able to achieve.

Sturm vs. Geale

Sturm took on IBF Champion Daniel Geale in a fight that was arguably his toughest challenge since Oscar De La Hoya in 2004, on September 1, 2012, in Oberhausen, Germany. Geale's unorthodox swarming, inside and outside tactics frequently befuddled Sturm. Geale would defeat Sturm with a well deserved split-decision win.

Sturm vs. Soliman

Five months later, he returned in an IBF Eliminator to face longtime contender Sam Soliman, after a strong start & scoring a knockdown in round two, Sturm faded down the stretch, allowing Soliman to take advantage and win a close unanimous decision victory. However, Soliman failed a post fight drug test and the result was vacated.

Sturm set his sights on Montenegrin boxer Predrag Radošević in a non-title 12 round bout in his home nation of Germany. Sturm won by a fourth round TKO.

Sturm vs. Barker

On December 7, 2013, in Stuttgart, Sturm faced reigning IBF Champion Darren Barker of England and defeated Barker by TKO in the second round

Sturm vs. Soliman II

Sturm' reign however would prove short-lived. Sturm's next fight was a rematch against former opponent Sam Soliman. Sturm was dominated in their match, throwing nearly three times fewer punches than Soliman, and losing a wide unanimous decision.

Professional Boxing record

39 Wins (19 knockouts), 5 Losses (1 knockout), 3 Draws, 1 No Contest
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
N/A	N/A	Fedor Chudinov		12	2016-02-20	Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	For WBA Super Middleweight title.
Loss	39–5–3 (1)	Fedor Chudinov	SD	12	2015-05-09	Festhalle, Hessen, Frankfurt, Germany	For WBA (Regular) Super Middleweight title.
Draw	39–4–3 (1)	Robert Stieglitz	SD	12	2014-11-08	Porsche Arena, Stuttgart, Germany	Super Middleweight debut.
Loss	39–4–2 (1)	Sam Soliman	UD	12	2014-05-31	König Palast, Krefeld, Germany	Lost IBF Middleweight title.
Win	39–3–2 (1)	Darren Barker	TKO	2 (12)	2013-12-07	Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany	Won IBF Middleweight title.
Win	38–3–2 (1)	Predrag Radošević	TKO	4 (12)	2013-07-06	Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany
NC	37–3–2 (1)	SolimanSam Soliman	NC	12	2013-02-01	Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	IBF Title Eliminator. Fight originally won by Soliman but later changed to a No Contest as a result of Soliman's failed drug test.
Loss	37–3–2	GealeDaniel Geale	SD	12	2012-09-01	Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany	Lost WBA (Super) Middleweight title. For IBF Middleweight title.
Win	37–2–2	ZbikSebastian Zbik	TKO	9	2012-04-13	Cologne, Germany	Retained WBA (Super) Middleweight title.
Draw	36–2–2	MurrayMartin Murray	SD	12	2011-12-03	Mannheim, Germany	Retained WBA (Super) Middleweight title.
Win	36–2–1	MacklinMatthew Macklin	SD	12	2011-06-25	Cologne, Germany	Retained WBA (Super) Middleweight title.
Win	35–2–1	HearnsRonald Hearns	TKO	7	2011-02-19	Stuttgart, Germany	Retained WBA (Super) Middleweight title.
Win	34–2–1	LorenzoGiovanni Lorenzo	UD	12	2010-09-04	Cologne, Germany	Retained WBA (Super) Middleweight title.
Win	33–2–1	GevorKhoren Gevor	UD	12	2009-07-11	Nürburg, Germany	Retained WBA Middleweight title.
Win	32–2–1	SatoKoji Sato	TKO	7	2009-04-25	Krefeld, Germany	Retained WBA Middleweight title.
Win	31–2–1	SylvesterSebastian Sylvester	UD	12	2008-11-01	Oberhausen, Germany	Retained WBA Middleweight title.
Win	30–2–1	GriffinRandy Griffin	UD	12	2008-07-07	Halle, Germany	Retained WBA Middleweight title.
Win	29–2–1	PittmanJamie Pittman	TKO	7	2008-04-05	Düsseldorf, Germany	Retained WBA Middleweight title.
Draw	28–2–1	GriffinRandy Griffin	SD	12	2007-10-20	Halle, Germany	Retained WBA Middleweight title.
Win	28–2	AlcobaNoe Gonzalez Alcoba	UD	12	2007-06-30	Stuttgart, Germany	Retained WBA Middleweight title.
Win	27–2	CastillejoJavier Castillejo	UD	12	2007-04-28	Oberhausen, Germany	Won WBA Middleweight title.
Win	26–2	ToppGavin Topp	TKO	6	2006-12-02	Berlin, Germany
Loss	25–2	CastillejoJavier Castillejo	TKO	10	2006-07-15	Hamburg, Germany	Lost WBA Middleweight title.
Win	25–1	MasoeMaselino Masoe	UD	12	2006-03-11	Hamburg, Germany	Won WBA Middleweight title.
Win	24–1	SendraJorge Sendra	UD	12	2005-06-18	Pula, Croatia
Win	23–1	SchenkBert Schenk	TKO	2	2005-03-05	Leverkusen, Germany
Win	22–1	CherifiHacine Cherifi	KO	3	2004-12-04	Berlin, Germany
Win	21–1	FrazierRobert Frazier	UD	12	2004-09-18	Leverkusen, Germany
Loss	20–1	OscarOscar De La Hoya	UD	12	2004-06-05	Las Vegas, USA	Lost WBO Middleweight title.
Win	20–0	VaronRuben Varon	UD	12	2003-12-20	Kiel, Germany	Retained WBO Middleweight title.
Win	19–0	VelazcoHector Javier Velazco	SD	12	2003-09-13	Berlin, Germany	Won WBO Middleweight title.
Win	18–0	VecchioRoberto Mario Vecchio	TKO	5	2003-07-12	Leverkusen, Germany
Win	17–0	MashegoTshepo Mashego	UD	10	2003-05-10	Stuttgart, Germany
Win	16–0	MamaniJavier Alberto Mamani	UD	10	2003-03-08	Hannover, Germany
Win	15–0	SzaboLorant Szabo	UD	8	2002-11-23	Dortmund, Germany
Win	14–0	LascekAnton Lascek	TKO	3	2002-10-05	Debrecen, Hungary
Win	13–0	TockTerry Tock	KO	1	2002-09-14	Braunschweig, Germany
Win	12–0	BugyikGyorgy Bugyik	TKO	2	2002-07-20	Dortmund, Germany
Win	11–0	MupekoDidier Nkuku Mupeko	PTS	6	2002-04-06	Hamburg, Germany
Win	10–0	DavisRobert Davis	PTS	6	2001-12-15	Berlin, Germany
Win	9–0	LuppMario Lupp	KO	1	2001-11-24	Hamburg, Germany
Win	8–0	PerniceFrancesco Pernice	TKO	4	2001-11-03	Lübeck, Germany
Win	7–0	IvoryAnthony Ivory	PTS	6	2001-09-29	Hamburg, Germany
Win	6–0	StiniMustapha Stini	PTS	4	2001-07-21	Aachen, Germany
Win	5–0	ZubkoZdenek Zubko	KO	2	2001-06-16	Budapest, Hungary
Win	4–0	KaouaneRamdane Kaouane	TKO	1	2001-05-05	Braunschweig, Germany
Win	3–0	IlungaBendele Ilunga	PTS	4	2001-04-07	Hamburg, Germany
Win	2–0	DendisSlavomir Dendis	KO	1	2001-02-24	Hamburg, Germany
Win	1–0	RibeiroAntonio Ribeiro	PTS	4	2001-01-27	Munich, Germany	Professional debut.

Personal life

Both of his parents were immigrants from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is a practicing Muslim. He is married to his wife Jasmina since 2007 and they have a son, Mahir.

External links

• Felix Sturm's Official Website
• Professional boxing record for Felix Sturm from BoxRec
• Leverkusen Who's Who (German)

Sporting positions
Preceded by Héctor Javier Velazco	WBO Middleweight Champion September 13, 2003 – June 5, 2004	Succeeded by Oscar De La Hoya
Preceded by Maselino Masoe	WBA Middleweight Champion Regular Title March 11, 2006 – July 15, 2006	Succeeded by Javier Castillejo
Preceded by Javier Castillejo	WBA Middleweight Champion April 28, 2007 – March 23, 2010 Promoted	Succeeded by Gennady Golovkin Interim Champion Promoted as Regular Champion
Vacant Title last held by Jermain Taylor	WBA Middleweight Super Champion March 23, 2010 – September 1, 2012	Succeeded by Daniel Geale
Preceded by Darren Barker	IBF Middleweight Champion December 7, 2013 – May 31, 2014	Succeeded by Sam Soliman