Tommy Karpency claims he is ‘ready for February 25′ as he is fully focused on his WBO light-heavyweight title showdown against the undefeated Nathan Cleverly (Karpency 11/1, Cleverly 1/28, Draw 40/1 Bout 3 Way) at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.

The 26-year-old Pennsylvania fighter has battled his way back into contention for a world title bid after two straight victories followed a disappointing points loss to Karo Murat in May 2010.

Many observers were surprised that 24-year-old Cleverly opted to defend his title for a third time against the 21-2-1 challenger next month as opposed to organising a unification bout with Beibut Shumenov and Bernard Hopkins.

But Karpency is looking to use the opportunity to prove he is genuine world title-winning material.

“Nathan Cleverly is an undefeated world champion, a solid fighter and I’m excited to fight one of the best,” Karpency told World Boxing News.

“Training is going very well. Everything has gone according to plan and I am ready for February 25th.”

Cleverly is expecting to go on and face either Shumenov or Hopkins following the Karpency bout, while the challenger insists he is happy to keep his eyes on the task in hand.

“I’m not looking ahead right now. I completely focused on Nathan Cleverly and fighting in Wales,” he added.