Former four-time world middleweight champion Felix Sturm is looking to get back to world title level when he faces WBA interim super middleweight titleholder Fedor Chudinov in Frankfurt, Germany this Saturday.
Sturm (38-4-3, 18KO’s) came up just short according to the cards in his super middleweight debut last November when he battled to a split draw against countryman Robert Stieglitz. ThaBoxingVoice.com saw the fight as a victory for 36-year old veteran and scored the fight 116-113 in favor of Sturm.
The WBO, however, saw the fight seemingly different and ordered their champion Arthur Abraham to face Stieglitz for the fourth time. A fight which will take place later this summer. Leaving the German-based fighter of Bosnian descent looking for a different route back to a world championship.
That’s where Chudinov (12-0, 10KO’s) comes into play. The one-year younger brother of 28-year Dimitry Chudinov, who recently suffered his first defeat at the hands of Chris Eubank Jr., claimed the WBA interim title when he knocked out undefeated Ben McCollouch unconscious in the second round of their fight last December.
The Russian has built up quite a name for himself last year when he knocked out four fighters in a row. Just like most of his countrymen that are storming the top of the boxing world at the moment, Chudinov is a come-forward fighter who works behind good fundamentals, like a great guard and a solid jab, and has dangerous power in both hands.
However, none of his previous twelve professional opponents remotely come close to the level of the opposition he will be facing tomorrow. The big question is whether Chudinov is able to make the giant step from fighting no-hopers to a crafty, veteran former world champion.
I think he will. Sturm is a very good boxer with fast hands, decent defense and great combinations, but throughout his career, and especially in recent years, he has had problems with fighters with a lot of activity and with heavy punchers.
Chudinov is both. If the Russian is willing and able to eat dozens of jabs from the taller Sturm to get in punching range and can let his hands go, he will be able to score the massive upset. I predict he will be able to do just that and will beat up and eventually stop Sturm in the second half of the fight.
On the undercard, Jack Culcay (19-1, 10KO’s) and Maurice Weber (21-1, 8KO’s) will battle for the vacant WBA interim super welterweight title in an all-German affair.
The fights will be broadcasted by German cable giant Sat1 and by Boxnation in the United Kingdom. The main event is expected to start around 10PM BST / 5PM EST.
