In light of the Sturm-Soliman rematch I decided to watch this to get a bit of back history. Flat out robbery. There was no real argument for giving Hoya the victory besides business. Even Hoya knew it, didn't smile or celebrate the victory and gave a shame/funeral type post-match interview. Looking at Sturms record, I think he got comfortable in Europe, plugging along against some solid albeit B grade boxers. He should have taken some risks. That said I am so happy to see Soliman win, he is the most slept on, laughed at, underestimated boxer ever and to see him win a title at his advanced age feels like some kind of justice. Sure he isn't a world beater...but such a top bloke who has dedicated himself to the sport and worked like a mule....good on you mate! Props to the new champ and I hope he gets some nice paydays before hanging them up!
Sturm is way past his peak and should retire. You could clearly see that. He was slow, didn't even measure the distance well and kept going forward without any real plan. He seemed like he just wanted the fight to end during the last couple of rounds. He was always known for his jab, and you could see that it's not even close to what it used to be. He clearly doesn't have it anymore and the retirement is the only right option before he loses to even more guys he shouldn't lose to. It will be interesting to see what happens next with the IBF title. Soliman is a solid fighter (also a cheater unfortunately), but far away from being world class and he's also 40 years old. I don't think that he is going to hold the title for long and it would be nice to see him fight someone who's actually worth being a titleholder. Maybe Golovkin vs. Soliman would be a nice match to see next year as one of the fights in between Golovkin's big bouts. I just hope that Geale won't cancel his fight with Golovkin and chase Soliman's belt. As for Sturm vs. Oscar, yes it was a clear robbery and basically represents everything that's wrong with the sport.
A couple points... Agreed that Sturm got hosed against Oscar. Sturm fought decent competition but never stepped up, in some regards. Can't blame Sturm from a financial standpoint, though. Can't like Soliman. Tested positive, bro. I will say that the continent of Australia gets underrated more than any other country in boxing. Geale, Mundine, Soliman, and every other Aussie who garners some world attention just seem to get met with a certain unjustified negativity.
I rekon it's because they go up against the Euro's, who aren't regarded in the US, so even if they win they US market tends not to recognise the value of their opponents/victories. Also, there is a lot of controversy about his positive bllod test. Another test from the US came back negative and the drug found was a stimulant commonly found in over weight gain supplents, it wasn't roids or anything.
DLH definitely got lucky on the cards. The decision overshadowed what was a good fight. There was a lot of leather thrown, Sturm showing a beautiful jab and short punches, Oscar throwing lots of body shots. In spite of the bad decision, it was an entertaining fight.
I scored it a draw on my first watch. Then I scored it 7-5 De La Hoya, since I score fights the proper way and count body punches. I can also accept if someone scored it 7-5 for the naturally bigger Sturm. It's also important to note that De La Hoya clearly didn't train for this fight, he was also clearly past his prime and he was clearly undersized. Javier Castillejo who was completely dominated and battered by De La Hoya not very long before ktfo Sturm when Castillejo was past his best.
De La Hoya had no business at MW, but even then he made that fight very competitive. I thought a draw was fair. Or even 7-5 either way.
It wasn't the egregious robbery that so many people got bent out of shape about. What have we learned?
We learned that if the favorite is a cash cow he usually gets the benefit of the doubt by the judges and the commission but criticized by some of the fans who root for the underdogs.
