MOST fight fans have never heard of unheralded American Tommy Karpency but he believes he can shock the boxing world by beating Nathan Cleverly in their world title bout later this month.

Karpency challenges Cefn Fforest’s Cleverly for his WBO world light-heavyweight belt at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, February 25.

The 26-year-old from Adah, Pennsylvania, will be a massive underdog when he steps into the ring live on BoxNation TV but he says he’s ready to grab the opportunity of a lifetime with both hands.

“I’m excited for an action-packed night on February 25,” said Karpency, who has a record of 21 wins, two defeats and one draw during his six years as a professional.

“Our styles will make for a great match. It will be explosive and a great fight for the fans to watch.

“The average boxing fan and boxing analysts may have written me off because I don’t have a big-time promoter,” he added.

“But I’m sure Nathan Cleverly hasn’t written me off.”

Karpency insists he has no fears of taking on Cleverly in front of a partisan Welsh crowd.

“My home town is a very small coal-mining patch with basically a hundred people living there and my father Paul is my trainer and my manager,” he said.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to fight for a world title.

“This is the pinnacle of the sport for me. It’s by far the biggest fight of my career.

“But I believe I can fight and compete and beat any light-heavyweight in the world. Any athlete who doesn’t believe that is wasting their time.

“It’s two guys in a ring and it doesn’t matter where you are.

“I’ve been training hard and I believe I’ll be ready to fight 12 hard rounds come February 25.”

Karpency’s previous career-high came when he took on Karo Murat for the WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title in Germany in May 2010.

He lost a unanimous decision by the judges after being knocked down in the second round but says the experience will be vital ahead of this month’s showdown with Cleverly.

“The Murat fight I took on three week’s notice and it was a good opportunity for me,” he said. “He caught me with a good shot early but I came back and it was an invaluable learning experience.”

Cleverly watched that bout in preparation for his own fight with Murat, which he won in September 2010.

He’s not taking Karpency lightly but doesn’t think he’ll have too much to worry about come fight night.

“He’s a southpaw and I’ve done hundreds of rounds of sparring with Joe Calzaghe so I don’t think I’ll have too many problems with his style,” said the undefeated champion.