'Cleverly is no Calzaghe' says Karo Murat

23-year-old Welsh wizard Nathan Cleverly has had an astonishing pro career so far, sweeping all before him on his way to compiling a 19-0 record whilst grabbing the European, British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles.

His next rung on the ladder to the top is a 'WBO eliminator' against Iraq-born, German resident, Karo Murat. So...just who is Herr Murat, beyond a 22-0 log and his status as a former European super-middleweight champion?

Background info I've been sent tells me that Murat 'motored' his way into a boxing career, and that is 'quite fitting since he is a man who likes fast cars in his free time'.

“If I had not become a professional boxer, then I would have taken a job as a car mechanic."

He came into boxing as a 13-year-old. “I would always watch big fights when I could and it just became logical for me to do that and win a world title,” he added.

He first caught the eye with KSV Kitzingen, but he also competed for Würzburg, Eichstätt, Nürnberg and Hamm as an amateur. He had 118 fights, of which he won 90, but Murat always knew that he wanted to enter the world of professional boxing. Together with his friend Alexander Frenkel, he popped into the Sauerland Team boxing gym and was able to impress in sparring with the former European Champion Danilo Haussler.

On September 23, 2006, he made his professional debut in Hattersheim, defeating Slovakian Matus Sestak with a knockout in the first round. Since then, win followed win and he became European champion at 168lbs thanks to a points victory over Cristian Sanavia in Neubrandenburg in April 2008.

“Now I have secured the European title, the aim has got to be to improve my performance even further and become more consistent.”

Consistency has been his bywort – he edged out Gabriel Campillo in September 2008 before stopping Sanavia in the tenth round of their rematch at the same venue.

Privately, Karo Murat is reportedly a rather modest guy. He is 'kind, helpful and friendly'. His boxer brother has a particularly big place in his heart. “The health of my family members is particularly important and that is also the case with Koko. On the other hand, he is also a boxer and so success is a priority. We both want to become world champion one day. We will never fight each other, though, since we both fight in different weight categories,” said Murat.

His first boxing role model was ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed, but since Arthur Abraham's heroics against Edison Miranda in the ‘Battle of Wetzlar’ 2006, that has changed. “That was an incredible performance for the sheer willpower and spirit of determination. To still come through to the end despite breaking a jaw bone and then to win it was sensational."

Murat also has a lot of respect for his coach Ulli Wegner. “For me it is very important to train with him,” he said. “He is my dream coach. He is a great man and has played a huge role in my development. Every word he pronounces is pure motivation for me." Murat now trains in the Max-Schmeling Gym at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.

His promoter Wilfried Sauerland unsurprisingly believes his man will see off Cleverly.

“Cleverly is a good young man with a good record but Karo has fought much tougher opponents than he has. Karo is more experienced and that will make the difference on Saturday night. I expect Karo to clinch a points victory.”

Murat added: “I have analysed my opponent carefully. I will exploit his weaknesses in the ring. I will let my fists do the talking on Saturday.

“First I will defeat Cleverly and then I will chase down WBO champion Jurgen Brahmer,” he said.

“Cleverly appears to be a big talker. I have read interviews where he puts himself on the same level with Joe Calzaghe. There is no way he is in the same league with him so he should not be saying something like that.

“He is pretty big, so it will not be easy to get to him,” he added. “But a lot of my opponents have been bigger than me – like Tommy Carpency, Sergey Demchenko and Gabriel Campillo – and I have defeated all of them. I am still unbeaten. I really look forward to traveling to Birmingham. The British fans love to see good boxing and that is why they will like me.”