Two former WBO middleweight world champions clash on March 5 in Leverkusen. New German boxing star Felix Sturm, 22-1 (10), faces his countryman and stable mate Bert Schenk, 36-1 (23), in the main event of a Universum boxing show at Wilhelm-Dopatka-Halle. The winner may be in line to challenge unified middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins later this year. Hopkins is defending his titles first against Howard Eastman on February 19 in Los Angeles. "I don't have Hopkins in my head yet. First I have to beat Bert," Sturm said who lost a controversial twelve round decision to Oscar de la Hoya on June 5, 2004. In his two fights afterwards he beat American Robert Frazier on September 18 in Leverkusen and Frenchman Hassine Cherifi, a former world champion, on December 4 in Berlin.

"The fight against Bert will be the most interesting challenge of my career after de la Hoya," the twenty-five-year-old Sturm said who will have the home advantage in Leverkusen, the city he was born in.

For the thirty-four-year-old Schenk the duel against his stable mate may be his last chance to get back into world title consideration. The man from Berlin was holding the WBO middleweight title in 1999 but had to vacate it after one successful defense when he tore his achiles tendon in training. Schenk failed to regain the WBO crown when he was stopped in round 6 by the new champion Armand Krajnc in October 2000. Since then he scored twelve straight victories but never fought for a title again.

Felix Sturm held the same WBO middleweight belt from September 2003 to June 2004 making one successful defense before losing the crown to de la Hoya in Las Vegas.

Sturm and Schenk have high ranking positions at the four major sanctioning world boxing organizations. Sturm is WBC #4, IBF #3 and WBO #1. Schenk is WBA #3, IBF #8 and WBO #7.

On the undercard in Leverkusen: Undefeated twenty-two-year-old Russian heavyweight prospect Alexander Dimitrenko, 17-0 (11).

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