When a fighter has been inactive longer than he would like or he is perhaps coming off an injury or he is taking a so called "easy" bout before a lined up super fight, he steps in the ring against a fighter whose skills are not on the same level.

The so called tune up fight -a fight that is supposed to sharpen the other guy's skills before an upcoming fight- is famous in the sport of boxing for either being what it's supposed to be, a blow out, a showcasing of skills for the fighter who is meant to win,  or the complete opposite of what is predicted. How many times has a fighter taken the easy fight before the big payday that lies ahead and how many times has it ended disastrously?

One instance that will always stick in my head is the Danny Romero-Willy Salazar fight. Romero was suppose to roll through Salazar with no problems at all. Salazar, 41-21-1 at the time, was just in the ring to keep Romero busy and sharpen his skills but that didn't happen. Salazar busted Romero's eye badly causing an orbital bone injury. The fight was stopped in the 7th round; it was the first loss of Romero's career.

Another fight still fresh in my memory is the Lennox Lewis-Hasim Rahman fight. This bout was also meant to keep Lewis busy until a super fight with Mike Tyson was made. Hasim Rahman came to fight, but no one told Lennox Lewis that. Lennox came in overweight and under prepared; it was obvious early in the fight that Lewis was not in shape. Lewis was sucking wind while Rahman seemed to get better as the fight went on. In the fifth round it happened, Rahman landed a huge right and it was 'Good Night Irene' for the champ Lewis.

Lewis did avenge this loss, scoring a fourth round KO of Rahman seven months later but it's probably the first fight most will remember. All this being said, it brings me to the upcoming Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Sturm fight June 5th.

Oscar is moving up to the middleweight division to challenge Felix Sturm for his WBO title. But Felix Sturm isn't the reason Oscar is now fighting at 160lbs; the reason is Bernard Hopkins. Hopkins is also on the June 5th card and if both De La Hoya and Hopkins win they will meet later this summer in a mega fight with mega dollars. But before the Hopkins fight De La Hoya has to fight Sturm. Not much is known about Sturm in the United States. Felix is 25 years old with a record of 20-0 (9 KO's), he stands nearly six feet tall and has fought mostly out of Germany. Although he is undefeated his record isn't full of names most of us would recognize. So is this a safe fight for De La Hoya? Is it just a glorified tune up fight? Who knows?

There are a few things to keep in mind. Sturm is the naturally bigger man, De La Hoya is not a true middleweight. Sturm is young and hungry; this is his time to shine. What a better way to launch your career than by a win over the Golden Boy? On the other hand Oscar has never been one to over look his opponents but with a huge pay day ahead of him it has to be hard to keep your mind focused solely on Sturm.

Felix Sturm has nothing to lose and a fighter with nothing to lose is always a dangerous fighter. Let's hope Oscar keeps his mind on the fight in front of him and does what he is supposed to do win so we can all be treated to a long awaited fight between him and Bernard Hopkins. In closing I have one thing to say... there is no such thing as a safe bet.