WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm (28-2, 12 KOs) is a busy man when it comes to boxing in recent months. He dethroned the Spaniard Javier Castillejo in a rematch in April 2007 to secure the WBA belt for the second time before risking it again just eight weeks after in Stuttgart against the unbeaten Noe Tulio Gonzalez Alcoba of Uruguay.

On Saturday night he is back again and will jeopardize his belt now against his mandatory challenger and #1 rated in the WBA rankings, Randy Griffin (24-1-2, 12 KOs), who is promoted by Don King.

"Up to now I had a perfect preparation. Already at the first press conference here I was well impressed with the arena and the surroundings. There is no better place than the Gerry Weber Stadion for such an event. I believe it's going to be a thrilling fight. This has been a great year for me, maybe the best and most succesful one in my career. The spectators expect a great fight and they won't be disappointed. The next days I will only focus on the fight. I have learned a lot from my previous fights and I know what my strengths are," Sturm said at today's presser at the Gerry Weber Sportpark.

Also his coach Michael Timm is very optimistic: "The last two victories were very important for Felix and they gave him confidence. It's a lot of fun to work with him. We had a tough preparation for this fight. I have given Felix a tactical guideline and he followed that exactly. We can expect a very good and highly technical fight on Saturday. We have the best conditions for this fight from wellness to food and training facilities, everything is great!"

Randy Griffin, also known as the "Gentleman," has a great record. His only defeat came in 2002 when he lost against James Lubwama. In his last fight about a year ago he faced Maselino Masoe in a WBA Eliminator and won clearly on points. Masoe on the other hand previously lost his belt in March 2006 to Felix Sturm. "I had a good feeling when I arrived here and I like the surroundings of this event. I'm a real nice person but when I'm inside the ring I'm like a beast. I will give my best," Griffin says.

The champion is expecting a tough challenge from the Louisville, Kentucky, native who will have his first fight in Europe and will try to extend the grand tradition of American fighters in the middleweight division.

Universum-Promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl: „It will be our first event in the Gerry Weber Stadion and we are looking forward to have Felix as our headliner in this event. We hope that the crowd will enjoy the night, with a great atmosphere and great fights!“

Three more title fights are featured on the undercard.

Unbeaten super middleweight Lukas Wilaschek (18-0, 6 KOs) will face Peter Mashamaite (17-6-1, 9 KOs) in a ten rounder for Wilaschek's German International belt. The fighter of Universum Box-Promotion will once again have another tough challenge after beating the Dane Fawaz Nasir in a hard fought battle in July. His opponent of South Africa had already faced Wilaschek’s stable mate Denis Inkin in February 2006 and lost after 10 rounds on points.

Super featherweight Vitali Tajbert (12-0-0- (5) will meet the tough Russian Peter Petrov (16-1-2 (8)) in an 8 rounder. In the world rankings Petrov is listed at 37 while Tajbert is only ranked at 70. Also in the European rankings Tajbert (8) is positioned behind his challenger Petrov (2). With this opponent, the Spotlight fighter will have probably his toughest challenge in his young career and an interesting battle can be expected.

Top rated junior welterweight Willy Blain (17-0, 3 KOs) will risk his WBO #1/WBA #7 world ranking in a tweve-rounder against Stephane Benito (22-12-3, 8 KOs) in a bout for the WBO Intercontinental belt. Blain, a former amateur world champion, is first in line for a shot at world champion Ricardo Torres.

Another heavyweight on the undercard is WBA number 5 heavyweight Taras Bidenko (23-2, 12 KOs) who will defend his WBA Intercontinental championship in a twelve-round bout against George Arias (41-9, 29 KOs). Bidenko hopes to continue the momentum from his win over "The Dutch Sonny Liston" Richel Hersisia in June