I like Tito in this one. Tito's power was still there at 160, Osacar's was not. Oscar was fat and slow against Sturm who I still think won that fight.
Sturm by points, but close. Titos power is a non factor in this matchup. Sturm was hard as a rock, never hurt, never down. He´d paint a grotesque make up on is face with his laser guided jab.
Sturm was Knocked out by an old blown up JR Middleweight (Javier Castillo). Tito hit way harder than Castillo did. Sturm was a good fighter but nowhere near the caliber of fighter Trinidad was.
Sturm was skilled, yes, and he had a good night against ODH who overlooked him. He should have won that fight, yes. But Sturm was also very hot and cold in his whole career, and not the most punch resistant guy. Trinidad by stoppage in 8
Getting jobbed against De la Hoya was a blessing in disguise for Sturm. That Harry Hard-Luck story has endowed him with mythical powers and given him way more leeway than others would have been allowed if they'd feasted on as many journeyman and gatekeepers for alphabet title fights as he did for over a decade. Hopkins, Taylor, Pavlik, Martinez and Cotto all came and went as the bona fide lineal or unified Middleweight champions during Sturm's championship career, and I honestly can't remember him ever making any real noise about wanting to take them on, or even feeling that there was the slightest chance of it happening. There have been plenty of alphabet titlists who have shown no intention of fighting the true champion in their division and never been considered the top dog themselves - but has anyone done it for so long and for so many title fights as Sturm? Sturm was a decent operator with a good jab - and Tito was very, very hittable with jabs as even Joppy showed - but he fought in spurts, didn't move his head and lacked any serious power of his own. Trinidad had his problems against quality boxers but I don't see anywhere near enough movement in Sturm's game to make that a factor here. Sturm was resilient guy so Tito might have to settle for a points win, but I'd still take him to win it relatively convincingly and to have Sturm looking pretty bloodied by the end. Trinidad wasn't special as a Middleweight, but I'll take the exceptional smaller guy over the bang-average bigger one here.
