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Felix Sturm
Felix Sturm 2012-03-30.JPG
Sturm in 2012
Statistics
Real name Adnan Ćatić
Nickname(s) The Fighter
Rated at
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11+12 in)
Reach 185 centimetres (73 in)
Nationality
  • German
  • Bosnian
Born (1979-01-31) 31 January 1979 (age 45)
Leverkusen, West Germany
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 54
Wins 44
Wins by KO 19
Losses 6
Draws 3
No contests 1
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Representing  Germany
European Championships
Gold 2000 Tampere Light-middleweight

Adnan Ćatić (born 31 January 1979), known as Felix Sturm, is a Bosnian-German professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, at middleweight and super-middleweight. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2000 European Championships in the light-middleweight division.

Amateur career

Highlights

  • 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

He finished his amateur career with a record of 143 wins and 10 losses.

Professional career

Early career

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.

Sturm vs. De La Hoya

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.

WBA champion

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 2 November 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 11 July 2009, he defended his title against Khoren Gevor in Nürburg 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.

After defeating top contenders Matthew Macklin and Sebastian Zbik, Sturm lost his WBA title to Australian Daniel Geale. Geale's IBF title was also on the line.

IBF champion

In 2013, Sturm became Germany's first four-time world champion by defeating Darren Barker in Stuttgart. Barker was in no condition to continue after suffering a serious hip injury. Barker's IBF title was on the line. One month later the Englishman announced his retirement from boxing.

In mid-2014, Sturm lost his title against Sam Soliman via unanimous decision. Soliman won by official scores of 110-118 (twice) and 111–117.

Super-middleweight

WBA (Super) champion

In 2016, Sturm defeated Fedor Chudinov by way decision, becoming a two-weight world champion. Later after the fight, the doping samples that were taken from Sturm before the fight were suddenly challenged, however, the sample documents were not complete, as the location, time of arrival was not documented. Due to this inaccuracy, Sturm was not stripped of his titles. He then relocated to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Doping allegations

Sturm broke the silence two months later with a post which he shared via Instagram where he complained about being treated unfairly by the doping investigators. Sturm wrote that he was only informed two months after the first doping sample about the results and that he wasn't told why it took longer than usual (two weeks). After engaging a lawyer who requested all the required documents from the investigators he noticed that the last page was missing, "...where is written, when my sample arrived at the laboratory, who received it and who analysed the sample.", it was written in that social media post. He allegedly didn't get an answer after submitting further inquiries and was denied the right to let the b-sample be analysed by another laboratory. Sturm claimed that the WBA refrained from suspending him because of these irregularities.

Comeback

On 19 December 2020, Sturm had his first fight since February 2016. Sturm dominated opponent Timo Rost throughout the fight and earned a unanimous decision victory, winning wide on all three scorecards. Two of the judges scored the fight 100-90 and one judge scored it 99-91.

Personal life

Sturm was born Adnan Ćatić in Leverkusen, Germany. His parents, Ćamil and Zahida, are ethnic Bosniaks who hail from Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, having emigrated to Germany in the 1970s. For marketing reasons, Ćatić started as a professional boxer under the stage name Felix Sturm. In addition to German citizenship, he also has Bosnian citizenship.

In May 2020, Sturm was jailed for tax evasion.

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary
54 fights 44 wins 6 losses
By knockout 19 1
By decision 25 5
Draws 3
No contests 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
54 Win 44–6–3 (1) Şükrü Altay TKO 9 (10), 0:32 2 Dec 2013 Ludwigsburg MHP Arena, Ludwigsburg, Germany
53 Win 43–6–3 (1) Şükrü Altay UD 10 18 Feb 2023 Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany
52 Loss 42–6–3 (1) Istvan Szili MD 12 26 Mar 2022 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany For IBO Inter-Continental super middleweight title
51 Win 42–5–3 (1) James Kraft UD 10 19 Jun 2021 Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
50 Win 41–5–3 (1) Timo Rost UD 10 19 Dec 2020 Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
49 Win 40–5–3 (1) Fedor Chudinov MD 12 20 Feb 2016 König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany Won WBA (Super) super-middleweight title
48 Loss 39–5–3 (1) Fedor Chudinov SD 12 9 May 2015 Festhalle, Frankfurt, Germany For WBA (Regular) super-middleweight title
47 Draw 39–4–3 (1) Robert Stieglitz SD 12 8 Nov 2014 Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany
46 Loss 39–4–2 (1) Sam Soliman UD 12 31 May 2014 König Palast, Krefeld, Germany Lost IBF middleweight title
45 Win 39–3–2 (1) Darren Barker TKO 2 (12), 2:09 7 Dec 2013 Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany Won IBF middleweight title
44 Win 38–3–2 (1) Predrag Radošević TKO 4 (12), 2:17 6 Jul 2013 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany
43 NC 37–3–2 (1) Sam Soliman UD 12 1 Feb 2013 ISS Dome, Düsseldorf, Germany Originally a UD win for Soliman: Overturned to NC after the A sample showed traces of an illegal stimulant
42 Loss 37–3–2 Daniel Geale SD 12 1 Sep 2012 König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany Lost WBA (Super) middleweight title;
For IBF middleweight title
41 Win 37–2–2 Sebastian Zbik RTD 9 (12), 3:00 13 Apr 2012 Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany Retained WBA (Super) middleweight title
40 Draw 36–2–2 Martin Murray SD 12 2 Dec 2011 SAP Arena, Mannheim, Germany Retained WBA (Super) middleweight title
39 Win 36–2–1 Matthew Macklin SD 12 25 Jun 2011 Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany Retained WBA (Super) middleweight title
38 Win 35–2–1 Ronald Hearns TKO 7 (12), 0:48 19 Feb 2011 Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany Retained WBA (Super) middleweight title
37 Win 34–2–1 Giovanni Lorenzo UD 12 4 Sep 2010 Lanxess Arena, Cologne, Germany Retained WBA (Super) middleweight title
36 Win 33–2–1 Khoren Gevor UD 12 11 Jul 2009 Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany Retained WBA middleweight title
35 Win 32–2–1 Koji Sato TKO 7 (12), 2:46 25 Apr 2009 König Palast, Krefeld, Germany Retained WBA middleweight title
34 Win 31–2–1 Sebastian Sylvester UD 12 1 Nov 2008 König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany Retained WBA middleweight title
33 Win 30–2–1 Randy Griffin UD 12 7 Jul 2008 Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany Retained WBA middleweight title
32 Win 29–2–1 Jamie Pittman TKO 7 (12), 0:36 5 Apr 2008 Burg-Wächter Castello, Düsseldorf, Germany Retained WBA middleweight title
31 Draw 28–2–1 Randy Griffin SD 12 20 Oct 2007 Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany Retained WBA middleweight title
30 Win 28–2 Noé González Alcoba UD 12 30 Jun 2007 Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany Retained WBA middleweight title
29 Win 27–2 Javier Castillejo UD 12 28 Apr 2007 König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany Won WBA middleweight title
28 Win 26–2 Gavin Topp TKO 6 (10), 1:08 2 Dec 2006 Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
27 Loss 25–2 Javier Castillejo TKO 10 (12), 2:47 15 Jul 2006 Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Germany Lost WBA middleweight title
26 Win 25–1 Maselino Masoe UD 12 11 Mar 2006 Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Germany Won WBA middleweight title
25 Win 24–1 Jorge Sendra UD 12 18 Jun 2005 Pula Arena, Pula, Croatia Retained WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title
24 Win 23–1 Bert Schenk TKO 2 (12), 2:01 5 Mar 2006 Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle, Leverkusen, Germany Retained WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title
23 Win 22–1 Hacine Cherifi KO 3 (8), 2:06 4 Dec 2004 Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
22 Win 21–1 Robert Frazier UD 12 18 Sep 2004 Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle, Leverkusen, Germany Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title
21 Loss 20–1 Oscar De La Hoya UD 12 5 Jun 2004 MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, US Lost WBO middleweight title
20 Win 20–0 Ruben Varon UD 12 20 Dec 2003 Ostseehalle, Kiel, Germany Retained WBO middleweight title
19 Win 19–0 Héctor Javier Velazco SD 12 13 Sep 2003 Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany Won WBO middleweight title
18 Win 18–0 Roberto Mario Vecchio TKO 5 (12) 12 Jul 2003 Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle, Leverkusen, Germany Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title
17 Win 17–0 Tshepo Mashego UD 10 10 May 2003 Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany Retained IBF Youth middleweight title
16 Win 16–0 Javier Alberto Mamani UD 10 8 Mar 2003 Preussag Arena, Hanover, Germany Won vacant IBF Youth middleweight title
15 Win 15–0 Lorant Szabo UD 8 23 Nov 2002 Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
14 Win 14–0 Anton Lascek TKO 3 (8), 2:00 5 Oct 2002 Főnix Hall, Debrecen, Hungary
13 Win 13–0 Terry Tock KO 1 14 Sep 2002 Volkswagen Halle, Braunschweig, Germany
12 Win 12–0 Gyorgy Bugyik TKO 2 (6) 20 Jul 2002 Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany
11 Win 11–0 Didier Nkuku Mupeko PTS 6 6 Apr 2002 Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
10 Win 10–0 Robert Davis PTS 6 15 Dec 2001 Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
9 Win 9–0 Mario Lupp KO 1 (6) 24 Nov 2001 Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
8 Win 8–0 Francesco Pernice TKO 4 (6) 3 Nov 2001 Hansehalle, Lübeck, Germany
7 Win 7–0 Anthony Ivory PTS 6 29 Sep 2001 Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
6 Win 6–0 Mustapha Stini PTS 4 21 Jul 2001 Tivoli Eissporthalle, Aachen, Germany
5 Win 5–0 Zdenek Zubko KO 2 (6) 16 Jun 2001 Kisstadion, Budapest, Hungary
4 Win 4–0 Ramdane Kaouane TKO 1 (4) 5 May 2001 Volkswagen Halle, Braunschweig, Germany
3 Win 3–0 Bendele Ilunga PTS 4 7 Apr 2001 Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
2 Win 2–0 Slavomir Dendis KO 1 (4) 24 Feb 2001 Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
1 Win 1–0 Antonio Ribeiro PTS 4 27 Jan 2001 Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich, Germany

Television viewership

Germany

Date Fight Viewership (avg.) Source(s)
11 March 2006
Felix Sturm vs. Maselino Masoe
5,970,000
20 October 2007
Felix Sturm vs. Randy Griffin I
5,000,000
7 July 2008
Felix Sturm vs. Randy Griffin II
3,900,000
5 April 2008
Felix Sturm vs. Jamie Pittman
5,880,000
4 September 2010
Felix Sturm vs. Giovanni Lorenzo
5,270,000
19 February 2011
Felix Sturm vs. Ronald Hearns
4,740,000
25 June 2011
Felix Sturm vs. Matthew Macklin
4,550,000
3 December 2011
Felix Sturm vs. Martin Murray
4,340,000
31 May 2014
Felix Sturm vs. Sam Soliman II
3,580,000
Total viewership 43,230,000

US pay-per-view bouts

Date Fight Billing Buys Network
June 4, 2004
De La Hoya vs. Sturm Collision Course 380,000 HBO
Total buys 380,000

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Felix Sturm para niños

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