By Allan Fox: IBF middleweight champion Daniel Geale (27-1, 15 KO’s) has long odds against him as he approaches his September 1st unification bout against WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm (37-2-2, 16 KO’s).

Geale, 31, will be fighting in Sturm’s backyard at the Koenig Pilsener Arnea, Oberhausen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Winning decisions over Sturm has been impossible for his opposition. It’s as if a getting a draw is about the best you can do against him when fighting in Germany unless you can somehow knock him out like Javier Castilleja did back in 2006. Geale has decent power but he doesn’t possess the kind of power needed to trouble Sturm. It’s going to take a lot more power to get him out of there than what Geale possesses. Sturm, however, has enough power to cause Geale a lot of problems if he makes the mistake of standing in front of Sturm.

I think this is going to be a really difficult fight for Geale because Sturm does everything that he does only better. Geale isn’t going to beat Sturm at his own game, and it’s doubtful that Geale’s movement will help much because Sturm has such a good jab. He’ll pick him off from the outside and make it look easy.

Former WBC middleweight champion Sebastian Zbik tried to outbox Sturm last April, and was taken apart by him in a 9th round stoppage win for Sturm. I consider Zbik a better puncher than Geale and a slightly better fighter as well.

Geale will have to try and take a shot at stopping Sturm at some point in the fight because he’ll get picked apart if he stays on the outside the entire fight.