The 34 year-old, who has fought himself back into the number one position with the IBF after losing his WBA title to Barker’s recent foe Daniel Geale, is open to traveling outside his home of Germany for the first time since 2005.
“My team is in contact with Eddie Hearn, but so far we haven’t reached an agreement,” Sturm told World Boxing News.
“We understand that Eddie would like to promote this fight in the UK, but so far he hasn’t been able to offer us acceptable conditions. The reason for it might be that he can rely only on revenues from the UK and some third party territories since our broadcaster SAT1 gave us a clear message that they would only be interested in case the fight takes place in Germany.
“But I would like to make it clear that I would absolutely have no problem with fighting Barker in the UK if a deal can be worked out.”
“I respect Barker and his win over Geale was a great performance. He showed heart and will. He never gave up despite the knockdown and came back like a champion. That deserves lots of respect and I believe it would be a great fight,” added Sturm.
Londoner Barker, 31, took the red belt from Sturm conqueror Geale in an exhausting battle at the Revel Resort in Atlantic City last month and has since been linked to a return in December by Hearn.
