The End for Felix Sturm: The German boxer is fighting the last bout of his career.
Felix Sturm made a promise to his family—and he intends to keep it. “There are things you can’t buy—including character and your word. I promised my family that this would be my last fight,” said the five-time world champion ahead of his farewell bout on Saturday in Stuttgart.
The 47-year-old will step into the ring one last time to face Granit Stein. He wants to go “full throttle” and “give it everything I’ve got,” said Sturm, whose real name is Adnan Catic. He’s looking forward to the bout.
“Granit was the only one who accepted the fight right away. I have great respect for that. He’s a strong and, above all, tenacious boxer,” said Sturm.
Final Fight for Felix Sturm
His opponent drew attention with a challenge. “My name is my strength. My name is Stein. A storm can’t harm a stone,” said the 30-year-old, while also paying respect to the former champion.
“When I started boxing, Felix Sturm was one of my role models. Getting to box against him is something very special. But at some point, role models fade away. Now I’m looking forward to facing him and beating him.”
Sturm is ending his career, which featured numerous sporting highlights—including five world championship titles (WBO, WBA, and IBF)—but was also marked by scandals. In 2016, following his world title victory over Russian Fyodor Chudinov, he tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol.
Sturm in Court Multiple Times
He denied intentionally violating anti-doping rules, but the case led to a lengthy legal battle. In 2020, Sturm was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion and attempted tax evasion, violations of the Anti-Doping Act, and intentional bodily harm.
This eventful career is set to come to an end on Saturday. Sturm has promised this to his family.