Soliman wants Golovkin next year

07/28/2014 Jeff Sorby

IBF middleweight champion Sam Soliman (44-11, 18 KOs) is targeting WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (30-0, 27 KOs) for a fight next year in the first part of the year. Soliman recently won the IBF title off of Felix Sturm last May in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision in Germany.

Instead of milking his IBF title the weakest of opponents like we see with many of the world champions nowadays, Soliman says he wants to face Golovkin in a unification match.

Soliman thinks that he can beat Golovkin with his boxing skills and make him miss all night in the same way that Daniel Geale was doing at times last Saturday night before he was knocked out in the 3rd round by Golovkin.

Sam Soliman: The Triple A Man

06/06/201406/06/2014 Tony Nobbs

If any current fighter deserved to win a world title it was Sam “King” Soliman. The inspirational Australian won the IBF middleweight championship with a unanimous decision over Felix Sturm in Germany last Saturday night.

While the forty year old Soliman’s performance was convincing it was hardly surprising as the veteran has always been a remarkable Prize Fighter.

Debuting as a professional in April 1997 after going 84-11 as an amateur boxer and grinding out a successful career in the Kick Boxing Arena, Sam has always been a Triple A Man: “Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime”.

Felix Sturm vs. Sam Soliman 2 on May 31st in Germany

04/01/2014 Vladimir S

A rematch between IBF middleweight champion Felix Sturm (39-3-2, 18 KO’s) and #1 IBF Sam Soliman (43-11, 18 KO’s) will be taking place next month on May 31st at the König Palast, Krefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Soliman and Sturm previously fought back in February of last year with Soliman winning a 12 round unanimous decision that was later overturned and changed to a no contest after Soliman tested positive for a banned substance.

Soliman, 40, has fought once since then in beating Les Sherrington by a 9th round TKO last December in Australia. For his part, Sturm has had two easy stoppage wins over Predrag Radosevic and Darren Barker. The fight against Barker might have turned into a tough one for Sturm if not for Barker suffering a hip injury in the 2nd round that it impossible for him to fight.

Sam Soliman: In trouble because of a caffeine drink

04/16/201304/16/2013 Will Arons

According to an Australian press report, middleweight contender Sam Soliman has allegedley admitted that he took the stimulant “oxilofrine” before his recent bout with former world champion Felix Sturm in February.

Journalist Ron Reed wrote in an article, which was published on 3/28/2013 in the Australian newspaper “Harald Sun” and later tweeted by Sam Soliman on his official Twitter account (@samkingsoliman), that “he [Soliman] has landed in trouble because he used a drink he bought from a suburban health food shop after being assured by the supplier and the manufacturer it did not contain a banned substance” and further that “private testing has confirmed it was a caffeine formula drink, similar to coffee, that Soliman purchased to help counter the effects of broken sleep during training.“

Soliman beats Sturm, Kentikian defeats Jah

02/06/201302/01/2013 ESB

By Jeff Sorby: Former WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm (37-4-2, 16 KO’s) tasted defeat on Friday night in losing a surprising 12 round unanimous decision to 39-year-old Sam Soliman (43-11, 17 KO’s) in an IBF middleweight eliminator bout at the ISS Dome, in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

The final judges’ scores were 116-111, 114-113 and 114-113. Sturm knocked Soliman down with a hard right hand in the 2nd round, and him in trouble late after almost knocking him down again. However, Sturm stopped throwing as many punches after the 2nd round and that caused the fight to get away from him.

Sturm was still landing the harder punches and tagging Soliman consistently with his jab, but he was letting Soliman out-work him from the 3rd round on. Sturm’ left eye began to swell up after the 5th, and he a lot of problems with Soliman’s unorthodox fighting style.

Geale to fight 38-year-old Soliman next, not Golovkin

09/14/201609/03/2012 ESB

By Michael Collins: With his 12 round split decision victory over WBA Super World middleweight champion Felix Sturm last Saturday night, IBF/WBA middleweight champion Daniel Geale (28-1, 15 KO’s) will be bypassing an World Boxing Association ordered title defense against WBA World middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin to fight 38-year-old Sam Soliman (42-11, 17 KO’s) in December.

The move will likely result in the WBA stripping Geale of his newly won WBA 160 pound title unless Geale’s management can get permission to bypass the defense against Golovkin. The WBA ordered that the winner of the Geale-Sturm fight has to defend the title against the mandatory by December 31st. If Geale chooses to fight Soliman, who clearly is the lesser threat compared to the hard hitting Golovkin, the WBA may choose to strip Geale of his title.

Geale probably would be better off vacating the WBA title because he doesn’t match up well with Golovkin at all. This wouldn’t be a fight where Geale could out-jab and win rounds against Golovkin by landing weak right hands all night long like he did in beating Sturm. That wouldn’t against Golovki, who would be teeing off on Geale each time he catch up to him and we’d likely see a knockout by the 6th round. In that case, it’s smart that Geale is looking to take on Soliman instead because Geale can win that fight, but he can’t beat Golovkin. That would be a terrible mismatch.