At the Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Germany, Felix Sturm pulled off a major upset, dethroning WBA Super Middleweight champ Fedor Chudinov. Final scorecards came in at 114-114 and 115-113 (twice) in a very competitive scrap. My personal scorecard came in even at 114-114.
Chudinov now picks up his first pro career loss, falling to 14 wins, 10 knockouts and 1 defeat, while five-time titlist Sturm climbs to 39 wins, 18 knockouts, 5 defeats and 3 draws.
This fight is bound to spawn all kinds of arguments in the twitterverse. So, with that in mind, I’ll say right off the bat that even I’m not 100% comfortable with my own scorecard. The fact of the matter is there were too many close rounds to call in this one. So, if you saw the fight and are now reading this and screaming endless protest, please, control yourself. Vent your disgust and anger in the comments, if you must.
In what was expected to be a walkover for Chudinov – especially with Sturm considered to be entering career twilight – Chudinov vs Sturm II was anything but that. In fact, it’s an awful shame this fight crept up on all us with little to no buzz. (Seriously, who out there was raving about this encounter prior to tonight?) Chudinov had his work cut out in this absorbing back-and-forth war, and Sturm emerged as one of the most defiant on-the-wrong-side-of-35 combatants in boxing.
No feeling out stage was neccessary in this affair, with both men keen to engage in plenty of close-range exchanges from the open bell to the crowd-lifting 12th. No knockdowns, no knee-buckling blows, but plenty of competitive action. While a rubber match between these two wouldn’t cause outrage in the boxing fandom, I do think fight fans will be crying out for matchups with the likes of James DeGale long before Chudinov vs Sturm III.
How did you score Chudinov vs Sturm II, readers? Spill your thoughts below.
