Sturm Gets Decision, Macklin Knows How Sturm Felt in 2004

The older you get, the more you realize that life ain’t frequently fair. Rascals don’t get proper comeuppance. Kids get cancer. The same sometimes goes in boxing, sad to say. Felix Sturm got the short end of the stick back in 2004 when it appeared to many if not most folks, apart from the judges judging his bout in Las Angeles against Oscar De La Hoya, that the German beat the Golden Boy. Seven years later, Sturm saw the other side. Many if not most folks who saw him fight Irishman Matthew Macklin in Cologne, Germany thought Macklin did enough through 12 rounds to earn a decision. The judges, two of them anyway,  didn’t agree, and they spoke last.  Two saw Sturm ahead 116-112, while one judge gave it to Macklin, 115-112.

The 32-year-old Sturm (36-2-1), who has benefitted from skillful matchmaking, seemingly benefitted from a hometown edge against his 29 year old foe, now 29-3, who said after that he hopes for a rematch.

Some will tab this a robbery, others a misdemeanor, but most all but the Sturm crew saw Macklin winning. However, on a day we all pondered Nick Charles’ death, it must be said that in the grand scheme of things, the wrong call on a boxing match doesn’t warrant a call for government intervention or even mandatory Lasix surgery for the judges. But a rematch, yes, that is called for.

Comment on this article