David Graf wants to prove that he is on his way up. On May 5 the cruiserweight is putting his immaculate record of six wins (five by KO) in as many fights at the Messehalle in Erfurt on the line. Now he is aiming for his next victory. But the prodigy of coach Torsten Schmitz is expecting anything but an easy fight. His 25-year-old opponent Attila Palko (Hungary) is travelling to Germany with an impressive record of 13 wins out of 15 professional fights (11 by KO).

Palko is the toughest challenge the Sindelfinger had to face to this date in his professional career. Most of his previous opponents he faced off with had less respectable records. Hence the young cruiserweight showed no weaknesses in his earlier bouts, winning all of them in style. Nevertheless the young man remains very down to earth. "There will always be a tougher and better fighter out there. You can never know what is going to happen," he says. "Out of principle I would never underestimate an opponent. "

His last fight back in February in Frankfurt am Main proved that his attitude is spot on. Up until then it never took David Graf longer than two rounds to end a fight in his favor. But against the Brit Paul Morris the Judges needed to decide the bout. "By winning by a unanimous decision I proved to myself that I am capable of being successful even over longer fights. I was able to show that I don´t just have to rely on my physique and strength," he remembers. "Everybody knows now that I posses the boxing skills required to go the distance."

He is definitely planning to do so come May 5 against Attila Palko. "His record obviously speaks for itself and of course I have respect for him," so the German. But he is not too worried. He announces: "Inside the ring we are going to see how significant his record really is."

The spectators in Erfurt will have to wait and see if Graf once again will knock out his rival or if the fight will go the whole distance. "You can never prepare yourself for a knock out. Therefore I always expect the fight to last twelve rounds." For Graf himself it is not important to overcome his opponents prematurely. "The only thing that is important to me is to win. If I win by points or by KO I don't care."

But one thing is for sure: If Graf manages to keep is perfect record alive against such a strong opponent, he will be able to take on even bigger challenges in the future.