Liam Happe

Saturday night sees the culmination of a five-year journey towards a fight both boxers - and many fans - have patiently waited to have happen. And while this particular half-decade wait isn’t for a bout the magnitude of Mayweather vs Pacquiao, this one will surely provide more in-ring satisfaction.

Nathan Cleverly takes on Juergen Braehmer for the WBA light heavyweight title on Saturday night at the Jahnsportforum in Neubrandenburg, Germany. The Welshman was scheduled to meet Braehmer for the WBO belt in 2011, but with only days to go before what would have been his very first world championship challenge, Braehmer withdrew

Cleverly would fight Aleksy Kuziemski for the vacant belt instead, going on to win the strap and defend it on four occasions before dropping the belt to Russian powerhouse Sergey Kovalev.

“I was in the car on my way to London when I got the call saying Braehmer hadn’t arrived and the fight was off,” recalls Cleverly. “It was a crazy situation, and the scramble was on to find a replacement opponent in just two days.”

Despite realising his dream that night at the O2 Arena, the 29 year-old admits Braehmer’s withdrawal rendered it a bittersweet victory.

“It did take the shine off my World title win,” he said. “I wanted to rip that title off Braehmer.

“He was the world champion and I wanted to win the belt from him. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way, and although ultimately, I achieved my dream, it was a bit unsatisfactory.”

It’s been a challenging five years for Nathan since the first time a Braehmer fight threatened to happen. His two-fight series with Tony Bellew, his crushing defeat to Kovalev, and the frustrations of his last bout - a decision loss to Andrzej Fonfara.

Despite being a former world champion, it hasn’t quite felt like Cleverly has reached the level he once threatened to, and looked on the cusp of reaching when Juergen first withdrew from their bout.

But if Cleverly can overcome his elusive rival, he will become a two-time world champ - a feat he hopes will kick-start a successful second phase in his career.

“It’s all about getting that belt and becoming a two-time world champion,” he explained. “That’s all I care about.

“It’s an opportunity for me to live that dream again. I did it once as 24 year-old, and here I am as a 29 year-old ready to relive it.

“I just want the opportunity to get my hands on that belt and to fulfil my ultimate potential. I don’t feel we’ve seen the best of what I can offer, and getting my hands on that belt will allow me to showcase what I can really do, and make this second phase of my career the best yet.

“This fight has been five years in the making, and with everything that has happened, I just feel it’s my destiny now,” he added.

“Braehmer has had a great career, and I respect him for that, but there comes a time when the older champion has to move aside and make way for the younger lion to come through.

“I was confident of beating him five years ago, but I feel even more confident now. It’s my time, and that belt is mine for the taking.”

Saturday’s fight in Germany brings the last five years full-circle for Cleverly. And indeed, it will either be a chance to start again as a world championship boxer, or the biggest sign yet that his “bittersweet” 2011 win over a Braehmer replacement is truly as good as it will get.

However Cleverly does have the backing of a Welsh great - unbeaten former world super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe.

In 2005, the now-retired ‘Italian Dragon’ defended his WBO world title against mandatory challenger Mario Veit at the Volkswagenhalle in Braunschweig.

‘’That’s another one for the record books,’’ he told Matchroom Boxing. ‘’Hopefully Nathan can be the man to break that record and bring the World title home.

‘’It was a different type of fight for me. Mario Veit was my mandatory challenger. I had already knocked him out in the first round in Cardiff, and then he won about twelve bouts on the bounce and got himself back into the mandatory position.

‘’I always knew I was going to knock him out again, and he went six-rounds the second time, but as I said it was a different situation for me. I came to Germany as the favourite, I dominated from the start and the crowd was pretty subdued.

“I expect that to be different for Nathan. He has to go over there and take the title from the champion.’’

Calzaghe, who enjoyed some memorable nights overseas, most notably his 2008 Stateside victories over Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr, is also the last British boxer to have won a world title fight in Germany against German opposition.

‘’This is a great opportunity for Nathan,’’ he said. ‘’Braehmer is a good boxer, but if Nathan fights an intelligent fight, and uses his hand speed and work rate, I definitely fancy him to win.

‘’If I was facing Braehmer, I would have done what I always did. I would have used my speed and my boxing ability, and I think I would have won comfortably.

‘’Nathan is a different kind of fighter, but if he plays to his strengths, I’m sure he can get the job done. He’s come back down to light heavyweight, he had a good fight against Fonfara, and now he’s ready to get back into the world title mix.”