Felix Sturm is ending his illustrious career after a narrow points loss to Granit Stein at the Porsche Arena.
Former five-time world champion Felix Sturm lost his final professional fight. The 47-year-old was defeated by Granit Stein on Saturday evening at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart in a close split decision. The event was broadcast live on DAZN.
Throughout the fight, Sturm (45-7-3, 20 KOs) repeatedly showcased the technical skill that had earned him a total of five world titles in the middleweight and super middleweight divisions. Nevertheless, the veteran struggled increasingly with the fast pace, pressure, and aggressiveness of Stein (21-2-1, 11 KOs), who did everything in his power to spoil Sturm’s farewell from professional boxing. The judges scored the fight 95-94 and 96-95 in favor of Stein, and 96-93 for Sturm. It was a closely contested bout in which both boxers were evenly matched for long stretches, with no decisive turning points or knockdowns.
Sturm made his professional debut in 2001, after having already enjoyed success as an amateur. In 2000, he won the gold medal at the European Championships in Tampere. A little more than two and a half years after turning pro, Sturm secured his first world title. At the Estrel Hotel in Berlin, he defeated Hector Javier Velazco by split decision, winning the WBO middleweight world title. In the undercard, cruiserweight Elvir Sendro (18-0, 17 KOs) defeated Luciano Falcao (11-3, 8 KOs) by unanimous decision after eight rounds.