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By Jake Donovan - It was a successful comeback and self-promoted debut for Felix Sturm, who ended a 14-month hiatus Saturday evening with a convincing 12-round decision win over Giovanni Lorenzo at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany.
Scores were 117-111 (twice) and 118-111 for Sturm, who defended an alphabet middleweight title in a matchup of 2000 Olympic boxers.
Lorenzo jumped out to a quick start, anxious to make an early impact on the scorecards. The New York-based Dominican was consistent with his jab, and also remembered to target the body, while Sturm remained behind a peek-a-boo guard and not offering much offense.
If Lorenzo had a plan beyond the first round, he certainly failed to show it. Sturm all but took over the fight from the second round on, applying more pressure with each passing round.
By the third round, Sturm had settled into a groove, with his jab and right hand enough to force Lorenzo to fight in reverse for most of the rest of the fight. Sturm remained economical with his attack, throwing in spots but effective when doing so, while Lorenzo was throwing in reactive mode and often catching nothing but air.
Sensing he was falling way behind, Lorenzo let his hands go at the start of the sixth. Sturm weathered the brief storm and immediately regained control, drawing a polite applause from the sizeable crowd on hand anytime he landed. Two heavy right hands late in the round slightly wobbled Lorenzo, but the bell rang before Sturm could inflict any further damage. [Click Here To Read More]
Scores were 117-111 (twice) and 118-111 for Sturm, who defended an alphabet middleweight title in a matchup of 2000 Olympic boxers.
Lorenzo jumped out to a quick start, anxious to make an early impact on the scorecards. The New York-based Dominican was consistent with his jab, and also remembered to target the body, while Sturm remained behind a peek-a-boo guard and not offering much offense.
If Lorenzo had a plan beyond the first round, he certainly failed to show it. Sturm all but took over the fight from the second round on, applying more pressure with each passing round.
By the third round, Sturm had settled into a groove, with his jab and right hand enough to force Lorenzo to fight in reverse for most of the rest of the fight. Sturm remained economical with his attack, throwing in spots but effective when doing so, while Lorenzo was throwing in reactive mode and often catching nothing but air.
Sensing he was falling way behind, Lorenzo let his hands go at the start of the sixth. Sturm weathered the brief storm and immediately regained control, drawing a polite applause from the sizeable crowd on hand anytime he landed. Two heavy right hands late in the round slightly wobbled Lorenzo, but the bell rang before Sturm could inflict any further damage. [Click Here To Read More]
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