Quetta born Muhammed Waseem(9-1-0) is set for his 11th professional fight on the 22nd of November in Dubai.
The world title challenger is pencilled in to face Mexico’s Ganigan Lopez(36-10-0), a former two time World champion.
Lopez became World champion in 2012, winning the WBC strap, a feat Waseem missed after his maiden World title opportunity in July 2018.
“Lopez is a tough opponent for me. He is a former World champion, and has achieved a lot in the sport. My dream is to become World champion, and he has done that twice.” said Waseem.
The bout takes place in Dubai which will be Waseem’s second consecutive fight in the city. “Fighting in Dubai is amazing. It is great to have the local support. Many Pakistanis reside in Dubai, so it is great to see support for me there.”
To date, Waseem has fought in the United Arab Emirates, Panama, Thailand, South Korea and Malaysia “I always wanted to be a fighter who fights all around the World, rather than just in one venue. But still, my dream is to fight at home in front of my Pakistani fans.”
Pakistan’s Waseem has had 9 wins, with 7 coming by way of knockout “A KO is special. Of course winning is great, but fans come to see excitement, and that’s what I want to bring with my knock out power.
In comparison, his opponent Lopez has had 36 wins with 19 coming by way of knockout “My opponent has more knockouts than I have had fights, which shows you I only want to face tough opponents. I could fight easy opponents, but I pick real tests so I can move up the rankings.”
The Pakistani boxer is currently ranked number 9 with the WBC. And number 19/731 in the World by BoxRec. Lopez is ranked number 20/731.
Lopez suffered a defeat in his last bout, after being knocked out by Armando Torres “I know personally how much a defeat hurts after my loss. Some people take it differently. It made me want to work harder, but for some it dents confidence, and I hope this will play out in my favour.”
“I am not looking too far ahead, but my plan is to beat him, and then In sha Allah fight for a World title next year.
Lopez is the perfect preparation for me to allow me to see where I am in terms of challenging for a World title.”
