By Scott Gilfoid: WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm (36-2-1, 15 KO’s) faces his second consecutive British opponent on December 2nd when he defends his World Boxing Association title against the unbeaten but terribly inexperienced number #3 ranked WBA contender Martin Murray (23-0, 10 KO’s) at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Baden-Wurtemberg, Germany.

This is arguably a big step down from Sturm’s last fight against Matthew Macklin last June. Sturm defeated Macklin by a 12 round split decision, and out of the kindness of his heart, Sturm offered the beaten Macklin a rematch and was promptly refused.

It’s too bad. Macklin must have had some lingering doubts about how he would do in a rematch because there’s no logical reason why he shouldn’t have jumped at the chance at another payday fight for the title. Murray, 29, has rarely fought 1st tier fighters and this is going to be a big step up from the guys that he’s been fighting. It’s odd that Murray would be ranked so high by the WBA when he’s been fighting B and C level fighters for most of his four year pro career.

In the fights I’ve seen of Murray against Nick Blackwell, Carlos Nasciemento and John Anderson Carvalho, I wasn’t impressed. The talent, power and speed just isn’t there for Murray. He looks slow, and the right hand seems to be totally devoid of power. Murray has a tiny taste of power with his left hook, but it’s no match for the left hook from Sturm, who I don’t see as a big puncher either.

But Sturm looks like a Julian Jackson compared to Murray in my view. Sturm’s right hand is much better and so is his jab. His jab isn’t just a little better, it’s a lot better. I can’t really think of one area where Murray has an advantage except for maybe his youth, but at 29, he’s not much younger than the 32-year-old Sturm. This is just a mismatch.