By James Slater – Tonight in Germany, WBA middleweight champ Felix Sturm retained his belt with an exciting 7th-round TKO over a game Ronald Hearns. The German, fighting in front of a hugely supportive crowd, tagged Hearns with two big right hands to the head as the challenger was stuck in a corner in the 7th-round, the second of which bent Hearns over, his head going into the ropes. At this point, the referee, Raul Caiz Junior, wasted no time at all in diving in and stopping the fight. The stoppage came at the 2-minutes and 30-second mark..
Upon initial viewing, the stoppage seemed somewhat premature/hasty; seeing as how well Hearns had been doing combined with the fact that he never went down. But on replay, the call looked a good one. Sturm improved to 35-2-1(15). Hearns, who was ahead on points at the time of the stoppage in the opinion of this writer, fell to 26-2(20).
The challenger set a fast pace at the outset, and “The Chosen One” scored well with nice, fast, accurate let jabs. Hearns showed lots of activity in there, while Sturm held his hands in front of his face in a high guard. Hearns was by far the much faster man. However, whenever Sturm did open up his punches appeared to be more powerful and stiff than did his challenger’s. A close opening round.
The 2nd saw Hearns continue to look fluid and relaxed, as he popped a good number of jabs into the stalking Strum’s face. The defending champ again looked dangerous whenever he did open up, otherwise Hearns was picking up points with his quick left hand. Hearns’ round.
The 3rd saw the son of the great Tommy Hearns (who was both ringside and interviewed pre-fight by German T.V) looking as good as he ever has. Outboxing, perhaps even outclassing Sturm in this session, the 32-year-old again scored with lots of left jabs to the head and he also began landing with the right hand now. Looking confident, it was even more apparent how much faster Hearns was. Hearns’ round.
The 4th, and Sturm, often a slow starter, was unable to get set; unable as he was to match the slightly older man’s speed of hand. Hearns’ round again for me and by now I had him building up a considerable lead.
There was a good attack by Hearns near the start of the 5th, and Sturm had to cover up. The crowd was beginning to get restless, and Hearns was again jabbing well, also landing right hands to the body. By this stage in the fight one could be excused for feeling a sense of nostalgia. It was almost as if we were watching the young Thomas Hearns in action! There was, however, a strong burst by Sturm at the end of the round, one that served to remind us who the favourite was in tonight’s fight. Sturm appeared to hurt Hearns in the fading seconds. Still a Hearns round for me.
The 6th saw more pressure by the WBA champ, and at one point Hearns sagged on the ropes as he was tagged by a right hand to the head. Hearns was still snapping out left jabs and the odd right hand, but a couple of left jabs followed by a left hook to the head hurt the challenger at the end of the round. Sturm’s best three minutes yet.
The end came suddenly and unexpectedly in the 7th, as Hearns, caught in a corner, was cracked by two hard rights to the head. His left eye showing some swelling, the challenger was hurt and knocked sideways by Sturm’s second right hand. Hearns briefly questioned the stoppage administered by the ref, but there were no real complaints. As classy as ever, 52-year-old Tommy Hearns even climbed into the ring to congratulate the victorious Sturm.
A good fight, with an exciting finish; neither man has any reason to feel down tonight.