Former junior middleweight titleholder Felix Sturm has been sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion and doping, according to multiple reports.
Sturm, a resident of Germany, was found guilty in a Cologne court of failing to pay more than $1 million in taxes in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2013. He was acquitted of evading tax payments in 2011 and 2012.
The judgment reportedly isn’t final as Sturm has the right to appeal to a higher court. It’s also possible that he will serve in open custody, in which he is free during the day but must return to prison at night.
Sturm, a Bosnian-German whose real name is Adnan Catic, also became the first top German athlete to be sentenced to prison for violating an anti-doping act. He tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance for his fight against Fyodor Chudinov in 2016, which Sturm won by majority decision to claim a super middleweight title. He vacated the title because of an elbow injury.
Sturm denied knowingly taking PEDs. “I can say to the best of my knowledge and belief that I didn’t do this,” he said.
German authorities hope the doping case will serve as a warning to other athletes.
“This is a precedent that will surely be observed and influence the case law,” Hamburg attorney Rafael Villena y Scheffler said, according to Der Spiegel. “Other judges will now interpret the anti-doping law more strictly.”
Said the National Anti Doping Agency, a German organization: “The decision is very remarkable. It is an important milestone for the anti-doping law and can also point the way for future criminal proceedings.”
Sturm, 41, was arrested in April of last year at the world’s largest fitness trade show, Fibo, and was in custody for eight months before he was released on bail.
The four-time world champion in two divisions made a splash by fighting Oscar De La Hoya on even terms in a 2004 loss many people thought Sturm deserved to win.