By Jim Dower: WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm (37-2-2, 16 KO’s) and IBF middleweight champion Daniel Geale (27-1, 15 KO’s) both weighed in successfully on Friday, coming in both at 158.73 for their fight on Saturday night at the Koenig Pilsener Arena, Oberhausen, Nordrhein,-Westfalen, Germany.

Both fighters have a lot riding on this fight, as neither can afford to lose because each of them would be losing out on big money fights in the future. Sturm is hoping that he can take a win over Geale and then face WBO super middleweight champion Arthur Abraham this year. Sturm can also fight the winner of the fight between Grzegorz Proksa and WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, although that options seems to be likely due to both of those guys being such hard punchers.

Geale is more suited to Sturm’s style of fighting. Geale’s not much of a puncher and focuses mostly on boxing and instead of slugging. Sturm has struggled in two of his last three fights in beating Matthew Macklin by a controversial decision and then fighting to a draw against Martin Murray that was also controversial due to many people feeling that Murray was the superior fighter.

Geale knows what he’s up against in facing Sturm in Germany, and he doesn’t seem to mind that no one has ever beat Sturm in Germany before despite the fact that four fighters have fought well enough to deserve a decision against him. Geale is going to need to take the fight to Sturm and hit him with everything he’s got to try and win this fight. Boxing Sturm won’t work. Geale is going to need power and lot of it for him to win.