By Patrick Haas

With all the focus of the boxing world on the 115-pound unification bout between WBA/WBC champion Cristian Mijares and IBF champion Vic Darchinyan, a matchup between two top middleweights has taken a backseat.

Amidst the modest fanfare comes a WBA middleweight title fight between champion Felix Sturm and challenger Sebastian Sylvester in Oberhausen, Germany (Saturday, ZDF, 10PM local time).

While Germany has become a hotbed of boxing with the likes of the Klitschko brothers, Nikolai Valuev, Ruslan Chagaev and Alexander Povetkin, this weekend's bout marks the first time in eight years that two German nationals collide for a world title. The last occurrence came in April 2000, when then-undefeated light heavyweight champion Dariusz Michalczewski stopped Graciano Rocchigiani over ten rounds in their rematch.

In terms of styles and personality, the fight between Sturm and Sylvester is more comparable to the bout that still holds the highest TV rating for a boxing fight staged in Germany: "Gentleman" Henry Maske vs. Graciano "Rocky" Rocchigiani.

Like Maske, Sturm (30-2-1, 12KO) is a stylist with an extensive amateur background, who relies on his fast jab, footwork and quick combinations to outpoint his opponents over the distance. Much like the Gentleman he soon became a breakout star with his good looks and charming personality, when he defended his WBO middleweight title against legendary Oscar De La Hoya.

When the final bell rang most observers felt the young German had handed Oscar De La Hoya the most decisive loss of his career, even switching southpaw in the final two rounds to befuddle the chubby superstar. But boxing politics prevented Sturm from leaving the ring like he entered, as the WBO middleweight champion.

Still Sturm, at age 25, had put himself on the map after a meteoric rise that began when he replaced Bert Schenk on short notice to win the WBO middleweight title against Hector Velazco.

What followed the tough loss to Oscar De La Hoya has been a disappointing rollercoaster.

After keeping an active schedule against nondescript opposition, Sturm would get his second crack at a world title against veteran Maselino Masoe in Hamburg, Germany in March 2006. Before the fight, Sturm proclaimed himself the uncrowned middleweight champion, although his old amateur rival Jermain Taylor had just seized the undisputed middleweight championship from and subsequently defended against Bernard Hopkins.

Still, the fans took Sturm at his word, only for his claim to be disproved by night's end. When the uncrowned champion decided to literally run out the clock against the 39-year-old New Zealander, he was buried beneath a chorus of boos.

In retrospective the fans knocked Sturm out that night, even if a new title reign officially began.

Aware of his damaged reputation, Sturm vowed to put on a show in his first WBA title defense, against former junior middleweight champion Javier Castillejo. He bulked up and promised improved punching power. Instead of using his legs and fast combinations from the outside to do damage to the experienced, but slow-footed Spaniard, Sturm choose to trade with the old veteran.

He wound up paying dearly;  Castillejo put him on the deck in round two and finished him with an uppercut in the 10th round.

Sturm's reputation took a further hit, and the term "overrated" was tossed around, packaged with claims of questionable stamina, suspect chin and leaky defense. The public bonus from the de la Hoya bout was finally gone.

Sturm regained some momentum with a close unanimous decision over Javier Castillejo in a rematch for the WBA strap the following year. But the good fortunes barely lasted six months, when he fought unheralded American challenger Randy Griffin to a draw.

Though the draw was perfectly legit, Sturm still felt the pressure to give Griffin a rematch. This time Sturm looked the sharpest he had been in months, controlling the action with his jab, sneaky right hands and quick feet.

Sturm regained his confidence, some suggest to the point of arrogance. A question about a potential fight with Sylvester was blown off by the 2000 Olympian, casting doubt as to whether or not his countryman would even survive a title eliminator with Sturm's old nemesis Javier Castillejo.

Being doubted is hardly a new experience for Sebastian Sylvester (29-2, 14KO). Nobody could have foreseen that the kid with the broad shoulders from the Northeast coast town of Greifswald, who was stopped in the first round of his pro debut would become a European middleweight champion and a universally recognized top middleweight contender.

For most of his career he was a background player, primarily as a sparring partner for current undefeated IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham. That began to change when Sylvester systematically broke down Dirk Dzemski, 22-0 at the time, en route to a 7th round stoppage to become the new German middleweight champion.

In this day and age, it's just another meaningless belt, but his televised performance raised some eyebrows within the promotion of German powerhouse Sauerland Events. The same promotion that had taken on a skinny working class loudmouth from the coal and steel cities of the Ruhr Area back in the 1980s: Graciano "Rocky" Rocchigiani.

While Sylvester doesn't have Rocky's brass and flamboyant personality, he has a similar style to the former two-division world champion.

Behind a tight defense, Sylvester would use a stiff jab, one-two combinations, good instincts and ring generalship to win the European middleweight title against former world title challenger Morrade Hakkar. After three successful defenses, Sylvester was set to face an opponent from an unlikely place - Amin Asikainen then an undefeated prospect from Finland,

Asikainen surprised everybody when he stopped Sylvester in a slugfest over eight rounds, instantly raising questions about Sylvester's toughness and ability to take a punch. He wasn't able to box from a distance; he couldn't handle the heat from Finland.

A rematch came about nearly a year later, with more on the line than just revenge; the winner would move closer to a world title challenge.

The bout followed the same script early on; Sylvester was repeatedly hurt during the exchanges until he landed a counter hook in the 6th round that changed the complexion of the bout.

Asikainen appeared physically and mentally stunned by the fact that Sylvester could hurt him. The German gained confidence with every passing round and never looked back, as he handed Asikainen his first loss with a 11th round KO.

Less than a year later, Sylvester and Castillejo were set to collide in a WBA middleweight eliminator for the right to challenge Felix Sturm. While most observers weren't willing to dismiss a Sylvester win as easily as Sturm, the questions remained whether Sylvester could handle the pressure and toughness of the Spanish veteran.

Sylvester passed the test with flying colors and put an exclamation mark to his dominant performance, when he knocked Castillejo unconscious in the 12th round in a legitimate candidate for Knockout of the Year. Even Sturm seemed stunned at how easily Sylvester had just handle Castillejo and reluctantly expressed his congratulations.

Tension has been building ever since between the two fighters.

Sylvester, who has known Sturm since their amateur days, refuses to acknowledge him by his presently b/k/a name, only referring to his rival by his birth name - Adnan Catic.

This subsequently raised questions, whether the bald, blue-eyed fighter from Eastern Germany was xenophobic, since Sturm has a migration background. While not seemingly the case, it certainly added fuel to the fire.

Sturm retaliated by questioning Sylvester's intelligence inside and outside the ring. He refused to pose for pictures with the challenger, but on they have to share a ring on Saturday. The fans will get the answer to the question of who will prevail in this highly anticipated grudge match.

FIGHT PLANS:

Sylvester has shown an improved inside game in his wins over Asikainen and Castillejo. If he loses the outside battle against the quicker and faster Sturm, he will have to make things uncomfortable for the champion by putting pressure on him.

Sturm usually comes into a fight with only a Plan A, to stick and move. It will make for some tough moments in the latter rounds, where he's shown a tendency to slow down in the past.