 All three judges scored the bout 115–113 in favor of De La Hoya.The decision was very controversial, far more so than his decision wins over Pernell Whitaker or Ike Quartey.Whereas the Whitaker and Quartey fights were considered close bouts that could have gone either way or been called a draw, general opinion was that De La Hoya lost to Sturm, with Compubox counting Sturm as landing 234 of 541 punches, while counting De La Hoya as landing 188 of 792.