Felix Sturm


Adnan Ćatić, known as Felix Sturm, is a Bosnian-German professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, at middleweight and super-middleweight. As an amateur, he won a gold medal at the 2000 European Championships in the light-middleweight division.

Amateur career

Highlights

  • 1997 2nd place at Light Middleweight in German National Championships, losing to Jürgen Brähmer on points
  • 1998 German National Light Middleweight champion, defeating Jorg Rosomkiewicz
  • 1999 competed at the World Championships in Houston, United States; as a Light Middleweight. Results were:
  • *Defeated Andrei Tsurkan points
  • *Lost to Yermakhan Ibraimov points
  • 1999 German National Light Middleweight champion, defeating Jorg Rosomkiewicz
  • 2000 1st place at Light Middleweight at European Championships in Tampere, Finland. Results were:
  • *Defeated Karoly Balzsay points
  • *Defeated Miroslaw Nowosada points
  • *Defeated Dmitri Usagin points
  • *Defeated Andrei Mishin 3-1
  • Represented Germany at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Results were:
  • *Defeated Dilshod Yarbekov points
  • *Defeated Richard Rowles TKO 3
  • *Lost to Jermain Taylor points
He finished his amateur career with a record of 143 wins and 10 losses.

Professional career

Early career

On 27 January 2001, Sturm made his debut as a professional boxer facing Antonio Ribeiro from Angola. Six months earlier he had qualified for the Olympic Games in Sydney, but lost his fight to future middleweight champ Jermain Taylor.
After 16 successful matches, Sturm won the WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title on 10 May 2003. On 13 September 2003, he replaced the injured Bert Schenk in a WBO title bout against Argentinian Hectór Javier Velazco and won the match. Sturm defended the title against Rubén Varón Fernández from Spain.

Sturm vs. De La Hoya

On 5 June 2004 in Las Vegas, Sturm faced Oscar De La Hoya in a defense of his WBO middleweight championship. All three judges scored the fight 115-113 for De La Hoya, while Harold Lederman scored the fight 115-113 for Sturm. Compubox counted Sturm as landing 234 of 541 punches, while counting De La Hoya as landing 188 of 792. Sturm protested the decision with the Nevada Athletic Commission to no avail.

WBA champion

On 11 March 2006, Sturm defeated Maselino Masoe for the WBA middleweight title by a unanimous decision. Sturm then lost his title against former champion Javier Castillejo via TKO on 15 July 2006 but won it back from Castillejo in a rematch on 28 April 2007 by a twelve round unanimous decision in Oberhausen, which he earned after defeating Gavin Topp by TKO in the sixth round.
Sturm became a three-time world champion after defeating Castillejo in the rematch.
He also fought Randy Griffin twice, drawing with him in their first fight and winning their second fight by unanimous decision.
On 2 November 2008, Sturm retained his WBA middleweight title via unanimous decision over Sebastian Sylvester. He improved to 31-2, with one draw, while Sylvester fell to 31-3.
On 11 July 2009, he defended his title against Khoren Gevor in Nürburg in 12 rounds.
After over a year of inactivity Sturm came back to defend his WBA title against Giovanni Lorenzo, with the winner becoming the WBA "Super" champion. Sturm defeated Lorenzo by a twelve round unanimous decision with the judges giving a comfortable 117-111 twice and 118-111 on the scorecards.
After defeating top contenders Matthew Macklin and Sebastian Zbik, Sturm lost his WBA title to Australian Daniel Geale. Geale's IBF title was also on the line.

IBF champion

In 2013, Sturm became Germany's first four-time world champion by defeating Darren Barker in Stuttgart. Barker was in no condition to continue after suffering a serious hip injury. Barker's IBF title was on the line. One month later the Englishman announced his retirement from boxing.
In mid-2014, Sturm lost his title against Sam Soliman via unanimous decision. Soliman won by official scores of 110-118 and 111–117.

Super-middleweight

WBA (Super) champion

In 2016, Sturm defeated Fedor Chudinov by way decision, becoming a two-weight world champion. Later after the fight, the doping samples that were taken from Sturm before the fight were suddenly challenged, however, the sample documents were not complete, as the location, time of arrival was not documented. Due to this inaccuracy, Sturm was not stripped of his titles. He then relocated to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Doping allegations

Sturm broke the silence two months later with a post which he shared via Instagram where he complained about being treated unfairly by the doping investigators. Sturm wrote that he was only informed two months after the first doping sample about the results and that he wasn't told why it took longer than usual. After engaging a lawyer who requested all the required documents from the investigators he noticed that the last page was missing, "...where is written, when my sample arrived at the laboratory, who received it and who analysed the sample.", it was written in that social media post. He allegedly didn't get an answer after submitting further inquiries and was denied the right to let the b-sample be analysed by another laboratory. Sturm claimed that the WBA refrained from suspending him because of these irregularities.

Comeback

On 19 December 2020, Sturm had his first fight since February 2016. Sturm dominated opponent Timo Rost throughout the fight and earned a unanimous decision victory, winning wide on all three scorecards. Two of the judges scored the fight 100-90 and one judge scored it 99-91.

Personal life

Sturm was born Adnan Ćatić in Leverkusen, Germany. His parents, Ćamil and Zahida, are ethnic Bosniaks who hail from Blagaj, Bosnia and Herzegovina, having emigrated to Germany in the 1970s. For marketing reasons, Ćatić started as a professional boxer under the stage name Felix Sturm. In addition to German citizenship, he also has Bosnian citizenship.
In May 2020, Sturm was jailed for tax evasion and drug use.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
55WinBenjamin BlindertKO3 15 Feb 2025Ratiopharm Arena, Neu-Ulm, Bayern, Germany
54WinŞükrü AltayTKO9, 0:322 Dec 2023Ludwigsburg MHP Arena, Ludwigsburg, Germany
53Win43–6–3 Şükrü AltayUD1018 Feb 2023Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany
52Loss42–6–3 Istvan SziliMD1226 Mar 2022Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, GermanyFor IBO Inter-Continental super middleweight title
51Win42–5–3 James KraftUD1019 Jun 2021Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
50Win41–5–3 Timo RostUD1019 Dec 2020Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
49Win40–5–3 Fedor Chudinov1220 Feb 2016König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, GermanyWon WBA super-middleweight title
48Loss39–5–3 Fedor ChudinovSD129 May 2015Festhalle, Frankfurt, GermanyFor vacant WBA super-middleweight title
47Draw39–4–3 Robert StieglitzSD128 Nov 2014Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, Germany
46Loss39–4–2 Sam SolimanUD1231 May 2014König Palast, Krefeld, GermanyLost IBF middleweight title
45Win39–3–2 Darren BarkerTKO2, 2:097 Dec 2013Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, GermanyWon IBF middleweight title
44Win38–3–2 Predrag RadoševićTKO4, 2:176 Jul 2013Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany
4337–3–2 Sam SolimanUD121 Feb 2013ISS Dome, Düsseldorf, GermanyOriginally a UD win for Soliman: Overturned to NC after the A sample showed traces of an illegal stimulant
42Loss37–3–2Daniel GealeSD121 Sep 2012König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, GermanyLost WBA middleweight title;
For IBF middleweight title
41Win37–2–2Sebastian Zbik9, 3:0013 Apr 2012Lanxess Arena, Cologne, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
40Draw36–2–2Martin MurraySD122 Dec 2011SAP Arena, Mannheim, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
39Win36–2–1Matthew MacklinSD1225 Jun 2011Lanxess Arena, Cologne, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
38Win35–2–1Ronald HearnsTKO7, 0:4819 Feb 2011Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
37Win34–2–1Giovanni LorenzoUD124 Sep 2010Lanxess Arena, Cologne, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
36Win33–2–1Khoren GevorUD1211 Jul 2009Nürburgring, Nürburg, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
35Win32–2–1Koji SatoTKO7, 2:4625 Apr 2009König Palast, Krefeld, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
34Win31–2–1Sebastian SylvesterUD121 Nov 2008König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
33Win30–2–1Randy GriffinUD127 Jul 2008Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
32Win29–2–1Jamie PittmanTKO7, 0:365 Apr 2008Burg-Wächter Castello, Düsseldorf, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
31Draw28–2–1Randy Griffin1220 Oct 2007Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
30Win28–2Noé González AlcobaUD1230 Jun 2007Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart, GermanyRetained WBA middleweight title
29Win27–2Javier CastillejoUD1228 Apr 2007König Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, GermanyWon WBA middleweight title
28Win26–2Gavin ToppTKO6, 1:082 Dec 2006Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
27Loss25–2Javier CastillejoTKO10, 2:4715 Jul 2006Color Line Arena, Hamburg, GermanyLost WBA middleweight title
26Win25–1Maselino MasoeUD1211 Mar 2006Color Line Arena, Hamburg, GermanyWon WBA middleweight title
25Win24–1Jorge SendraUD1218 Jun 2005Pula Arena, Pula, CroatiaRetained WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title
24Win23–1Bert SchenkTKO2, 2:015 Mar 2006Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle, Leverkusen, GermanyRetained WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title
23Win22–1Hacine CherifiKO3, 2:064 Dec 2004Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
22Win21–1Robert FrazierUD1218 Sep 2004Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle, Leverkusen, GermanyWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title
21Loss20–1Oscar De La HoyaUD125 Jun 2004MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, USLost WBO middleweight title
20Win20–0Ruben VaronUD1220 Dec 2003Ostseehalle, Kiel, GermanyRetained WBO middleweight title
19Win19–0Héctor Javier Velazco1213 Sep 2003Estrel Hotel, Berlin, GermanyWon WBO middleweight title
18Win18–0Roberto Mario VecchioTKO5 12 Jul 2003Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle, Leverkusen, GermanyWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title
17Win17–0Tshepo MashegoUD1010 May 2003Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, GermanyRetained IBF Youth middleweight title
16Win16–0Javier Alberto MamaniUD108 Mar 2003Preussag Arena, Hanover, GermanyWon vacant IBF Youth middleweight title
15Win15–0Lorant Szabo823 Nov 2002Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany
14Win14–0Anton LascekTKO3, 2:005 Oct 2002Főnix Hall, Debrecen, Hungary
13Win13–0Terry TockKO114 Sep 2002Volkswagen Halle, Braunschweig, Germany
12Win12–0Gyorgy BugyikTKO2 20 Jul 2002Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, Germany
11Win11–0Didier Nkuku MupekoPTS66 Apr 2002Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
10Win10–0Robert DavisPTS615 Dec 2001Estrel Hotel, Berlin, Germany
9Win9–0Mario LuppKO1 24 Nov 2001Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
8Win8–0Francesco PerniceTKO4 3 Nov 2001Hansehalle, Lübeck, Germany
7Win7–0Anthony IvoryPTS629 Sep 2001Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
6Win6–0Mustapha StiniPTS421 Jul 2001Tivoli Eissporthalle, Aachen, Germany
5Win5–0Zdenek ZubkoKO2 16 Jun 2001Kisstadion, Budapest, Hungary
4Win4–0Ramdane Kaouane1 5 May 2001Volkswagen Halle, Braunschweig, Germany
3Win3–0Bendele IlungaPTS47 Apr 2001Universum Gym, Hamburg, Germany
2Win2–0Slavomir Dendis1 24 Feb 2001Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Hamburg, Germany
1Win1–0Antonio Ribeiro427 Jan 2001Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich, Germany