Nathan Cleverly eyes Carl Froch fight in the summer

WBO light-heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly would be open to a summer fight with former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch in Cardiff.

Unbeaten Cleverly would first have to beat Tommy Karpency at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena on 25 February.

Promoter Frank Warren has said he then wants to stage a June open air fight at the Cardiff City Stadium.

"Frank's got big plans for me and to fight at Cardiff City's ground would be a dream," said Cleverly.

"I'm still only 24 and time is on my side to achieve a lot of things.

"I know the big super-fights will come, I've just got to keep putting on good displays and we are progressively getting there.

"In the meantime I can't be complacent by taking my eye off the ball and let Karpency upset the plans."

Warren said former two-time WBC super-middleweight champion Froch would be an ideal opponent for Cleverly at Cardiff City Stadium.

Froch, who lost his WBC and WBA super-middleweight titles to Andre Ward last December, expressed a desire last year to step up a weight and fight Cleverly.

"I would like to see Nathan fight again in early June at Cardiff City's ground in a big open-air show," said Warren.

"If Carl Froch wants to step up a weight and fight him then I'd take that fight in a heartbeat, he's made for Nathan.

"Then I'd be looking for Nathan to have a unification fight, hopefully in September against one of the other title holders."

Before a bout against Froch or a unification fight against WBC champion Bernard Hopkins or WBA title-holder Beibut Shumenov, Cleverly defends his title for a third time against American Karpency.

The fight against the unheralded 25-year-old will be Cleverly's first in Wales since he defeated Joey Vegas on points at the Millennium Stadium in November 2007.

A one-time WBO Inter-Continental light-heavyweight title challenger, Karpency has 21 wins from 24 fights, including 14 knockouts.

Karpency lost to Karo Murat for the WBO inter-continental light heavyweight belt in May 2010 and has fought only once since then.

"I saw Karo Murat's fight against Karpency when I was preparing for my fight against Murat and I saw that he's a southpaw, tough, rugged and strong," said Cleverly.

"He'll come to have a fight with me, but I'll break him down and look good doing it."