By Jake Donovan

Ordinarily, a matchup such as the catchweight clash between Felix Sturm and Robert Stieglitz would be described as a must-win scenario for both fighters.

Given their history, though, it stands to reason that even the loser of Saturday’s bout in Stuttgart will still somehow hover around the top level. Both have led that type of career.

Sturm (39-4-2, 18KOs) saw his fourth middleweight title reign come to an abrupt end, dropping a wide decision to Sam Soliman in late May. The bout came less than six months after his latest career resurrection, icing Darren Barker in two rounds last December.

Three of Sturm’s title reigns went without making a single successful defense. With an overall record of 15-4-2 in major title fights, Sturm remains best known to U.S. fans for his horrific robbery loss to Oscar de la Hoya in June ’04.

Overseas, Sturm is known as a fighter with friends on both sides of the ropes; several of his title defenses during his lengthy third title reign featured controversial decisions in his favor.

Nearly 14 years into his pro career, it remains to be seen if the 35-year old Sturm – who represented Germany (then known as Adnan Catic) in the 2000 Sydney Olympics – can still run on borrowed time, and in a new weight class.

Saturday’s bout marks the first time Sturm fights outside of the middleweight division.

Even with the fight taking place at a catchweight of 166.5 lb., Stieglitz (47-4, 27KOs) still boasts a significant size advantage. The 33-year old has spent his entire career at super middleweight and light heavyweight, with varying degrees of success and disappointment.

Stieglitz hit the pinnacle of his career with an 11th round stoppage of Karoly Balzsay in Aug. ’09 to begin his first title reign. The feat came two years after a failed attempt at a belt, suffering a 3rd round knockout loss to Alejandro Berrio, whom he stopped in 11 rounds just 14 months prior to earn the title shot.

His title reign ended, renewed and ended again with Arthur Abraham over the course of their bizarre three-fight series. Abraham scored a major upset win, outpointing Stieglitz in their Aug. ’12 bout to claim a long-elusive super middleweight belt following a long stay as a middleweight titlist and a failed run during Showtime’s Super Six tournament.

Stieglitz became a two-time champ in the rematch, punching Abraham into submission via injury after three full rounds last March. Abraham gained his revenge nearly one year later, scoring a split decision in March, disrupting a four-fight win streak enjoyed by Stieglitz.

He has since rebounded with a 10th round stoppage of Sergey Khomitsky this past July.

The winner will undoubtedly find his way to at least one more title shot, while the loser will soon learn whether or not there still exists a 9th life left in his career.

Read on to see how the staff at Boxingscene.com believes Saturday’s super middleweight action goes down in Stuttgart.

BOXINGSCENE.COM STAFF PREDICTIONS: ROBERT STIEGLITZ vs. FELIX STURM

Jake Donovan (Draw): “It’s almost impossible to predict which way the pendulum will swing with these fighters. Sturm is the better fighter on paper, but as a career middleweight on the down side, it’s hard to have a lot of faith in a move up the scale. Stieglitz has the advantage on weight alone, but possibly his only real edge. A competitive fight leaves the judges stumped, resulting in a three-way draw.”

Steve Kim (Stieglitz Dec.): “I’m not sure Sturm has much left in the tank but Stieglitz isn't a world-beater. But just a hunch, I'll go with Stieglitz by decision.”

Cliff Rold (Stieglitz Dec.): “Stieglitz has improved in recent years while Sturm seems to have gone backwards. The longtime middleweight still has an excellent jab and this is a pretty even fight. Lean to the man with more recent success.”

Reynaldo Sanchez (No Pick): “For experience and skill I believe that Sturm should win this fight, have just my doubts. Whom we will see in the ring this night, the boxer Sturm or the promoter Sturm? If the boxer enters the ring Sturm will win by unanimous decision; otherwise Stieglitz by split decision.”

Alexey Sukachev (Stieglitz UD): “For all his experience and mastery Sturm of Old is long gone. His swan song was against Darren Barker and it was just a moment. Now Sturm will find himself against equally experienced opponent but more fresher of the two. He will be slightly outboxed and terrifically outpunched.”

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox