It is hard to miss the fanfare that accompanies welterweight prospect Florian Marku to the ring on each of his fight nights.

Marku, who was born in Albania but raised in Greece, fought his second professional fight in the UK and never looked back, penning a deal with Matchroom before switching to Boxxer this year so he could continue to fight on Sky Sports.

The 29-year-old’s feverish backing is often a surprise to those at ringside, with the wider boxing world knowing little about the unbeaten fighter.

“I didn’t know until I started fighting here, but there is a huge Albanian population in the UK,” Marku tells BBC Sport.

“I’ve been fighting my whole life. In kickboxing I had over a hundred fights – I won four world titles. I’ve lost only four times in all my life.

“I fought every top name in kickboxing across Europe and the Albanians were following me. When I came here I was already a big name, just not in the UK.

“When I started boxing, everyone was surprised I had such a big following. I think my first two fights in York Hall [in London] I sold all the tickets by myself.

“They see me as a big name and they started calling me ‘the Albanian King’ and it’s stuck.”

Marku winds himself tight during fight week. He is intense, confrontational and loud – not unlike his fanbase.

“When it’s fight week I see my opponent as someone who is trying to stop me from reaching my dreams. He is not my friend, he is my enemy,” he explains.

Marku’s unwavering belief in himself is so great that his family – which includes his sister, mother and father – were convinced to join him, his wife and their young son in the UK.

“Fighting has always been my main dream so I could feed my family and make a good life for them, and be famous,” he says. “My world right now is achieving my dream, I believe like no-one else believes in themselves.”

After a lacklustre points win over Frenchman Jorick Luisetto in his last fight in November, Marku is keen to grasp his opportunity at Boxxer.

He is the chief support to Savannah Marshall’s world title defence this Saturday in Newcastle, where he will take on Welshman Chris Jenkins in his 12th pro bout.

“I think I’m different from the other guys and I’m going to show that,” says Marku, who had a career in MMA cut short by injury.

“I don’t think he’s my toughest opponent. I think he’s an experienced fighter and a good name at the perfect time for me to go on my record. People will put respect on my name after this Saturday, it’ll be a statement.

“They overlook me because they think I’m a kickboxer. When the big fights come, I think I will show them.

“They don’t respect me because I was a kickboxer, but they must remember that in the 110 fights I had in kickboxing, they were also trying to beat me and I only lost four times in my life. That’s something to respect. I will show how good I am.”