By Rick Reeno

Lou DiBella, promoter for middleweight contender Andy Lee (27-1, 19KOs), was not surprised with Felix Sturm's decision to defend his WBA title against Sebastian Zbik (30-1, 10KOs) on April 13th in Germany. Lee had been scheduled to take part in an HBO-televised co-feature on March 17 at The Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden. Sergio Martinez takes on Matthew Macklin in the televised main event.

Last week, Lee withdrew from the Martinez-Macklin card to pursue a possible fight with Sturm (36-2-2, 15KOs) in April. During their negotiations, Sturm's people advised DiBella that Zbik and Lee were the only two boxers being considered for Sturm's next fight.

"They were very straight with me and told me all along that Andy was one of two fighters in contention for the fight, and I had a feeling that Zbik was getting it, so it doesn't surprise me. Now Andy will probably have a keep-busy fight in the interim, while we look for other opportunities. He was the [other] alternative. He didn't get the fight, but he very well could have. He will keep active and he'll get a big opportunity this year for sure," DiBella told BoxingScene.com.