by Cliff Rold

While American eyes will be trained on the Light Heavyweight division on Saturday, Bernard Hopkins-Sergey Kovalev isn’t the only big fight on the slate.

In Germany, one division below them, two former titlists will be matched up in a contest with no clear favorite and a limited margin of error. 

35-year old former WBO, WBA, and IBF Middleweight titlist Felix Sturm (39-4-2, 18 KO) moves up for a catchweight (166 ½ lbs.) contest with 33-year old former WBO Super Middleweight titlist Robert Stieglitz (47-4, 27 KO).  They are two men An der Kreuzung.

At the crossroad.

 

And a good crossroad fight is never a bad thing.

With rare exceptions (Hopkins being an obvious one), boxers have a shelf life that begins to really erode as they hit their mid-30s.  The more hard fights one has had by those ages, the closer they are usually to the end.

In the cases of Sturm and Stieglitz, it’s not easy to be sure who has more time to correct course should they lose this weekend.  Many of the variables suggest Sturm.  He’s older and has been a part of the title scene.  An Olympian in 2000, Sturm won his first title in 2003.  That first title loss, controversial though it was to Oscar De La Hoya the following year, came more than a decade ago. 

While Sturm wasn’t always fighting the absolute best at Middleweight, he fought his share of real contenders and has been in the title picture most of his career.  Time, and the professionalism needed to maintain consistent placement, take their toll.

That won’t make him the only man with wear on his tires.

Stieglitz and Sturm both turned pro in 2001.  Of the two, Stieglitz has had a few more fights and been stopped twice to Sturm’s once. 

The career arc was different.

Sturm was treated like a more special talent from early on, cultivated into one of the biggest draws in the strong German market.  Stieglitz was a fighter who, after those stoppage losses to big punchers Aleandro Berrio and Librado Andrade in 2007 and 08 respectively, looked like a solid pro but not someone to worry about near the top.

It’s what has made him one of the better stories of recent years.  His career long outlasted both of his initial conquerors.  He won four in a row after the Andrade loss, won the WBO crown in 2009, and then just kept winning.

Six defenses led to the start of a rivalry that gained Stieglitz a new appreciation.  He lost his title with a narrow decision to former Middleweight titlist Arthur Abraham in 2012, dramatically regaining it the following year with a fourth round stoppage.  It was his biggest win and showed how far he’d come.

Stieglitz lost the competitive rubber match earlier this year, but the split decision could have gone either way and Stieglitz remains a factor. 

Sturm’s recent form has been less consistent.  A loss to Daniel Geale in a Middleweight unification tilt in 2012 came after narrow escapes in a win and draw against Matthew Macklin and Martin Murray.  Since Geale, Sturm has an impressive title win against Darren Barker against two losses to the aged Sam Soliman (the first wiped out on a bum drug test for Soliman). 

Strum badly needs a win this weekend.  His ability to sell tickets, and draw TV eyes, in Germany might remain a while longer even with a loss.  At 35, the desire to keep working through setbacks could wane. 

Stieglitz, being younger, might have a bit more time to rebound from a loss but a 1-2 record in 2014 wouldn’t be the best way to position himself for the year ahead.

It’s not a bad time to have a crossroads fight at Super Middleweight.

The recognized champion of the division, Andre Ward, is sidelined by a lawsuit with his promoter.  Carl Froch has proven the biggest draw in the class, and has two titles, but may only have a fight or two left.  Anthony Dirrell, and thus Al Haymon, has another of the belts locked up.

That leaves Abraham (41-4, 28 KO) as the best option for both Stieglitz and Sturm.

Abraham-Stieglitz IV might not be everyone’s first choice, but the rivalry has been good enough so far to make it acceptable if it came to pass.  Sturm-Abraham is something else, a fight that didn’t happen when both had titles at Middleweight that would still carry cache today.

Neither man is in their prime, but it would still be fun to see just who was the best of the German market Middleweights in this era.

Before we can get to either option, we get Stieglitz-Sturm.  One man will exit the crossroads with a title shot to look forward to.

The other will watch and wonder if time has passed him by.    

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com