KASH FAROOQ is inching ever closer to the world title he so desperately craves.

Having claimed the WBC International Silver belt in his previous fight in April, the Glasgow bantamweight will this weekend look to add the full, non-silver version of that title to his list of achievements when he takes on Luis Gerardo Castillo as part of the latest edition of Matchroom’s Fight Camp series.

Having previously only ever fought in Glasgow or Paisley, this appearance marks Farooq’s third consecutive bout in the south of England as the St Andrew’s Sporting Club boxer continues to grow his following and legacy under promoter Eddie Hearn’s wing.

Castillo’s 28-2 record grants him instant respect while he retains something of the unknown about him having never previously fought outside of his native Mexico.

Farooq, though, believes he is building towards something special and the former British champion hopes this will be another successful step along that journey.

“It’s another title to take home hopefully if everything goes well,” he said. “Since my last fight I’ve been training and sparring non-stop – I feel like I’m still in lockdown in some ways as I’ve not changed anything in my life. Everything has been focused on working towards getting back in the ring.

“I’m going to treat this like it’s my hardest fight. I know Castillo has never boxed outside of Mexico but Mexican fighters are always dangerous. They fight with a lot of pride and heart.

“This is an opportunity for Castillo to change his life so I know he’ll be doing everything he can to beat me. But it’s another massive night for me too.

“I need to keep winning if I want to get right to the top which has always been my ambition and getting this international title would take me another step closer.

“Competing at Fight Camp will be another box ticked on my boxing bucket list. I’ve fought at Wembley and at the Copperbox so this will be something different again.

“My motivation is so high. I’ve worked so hard for this opportunity and I’m not going to waste it.

“There’s going to be fans there and I’m taking a few people down and that always helps. The event is being shown all around the world on DAZN so it’s a big platform for me to show what I can do.”

This is the final act of the three-fight promotional deal Farooq penned with Matchroom following his contentious defeat to Lee McGregor in November 2019.

It is hard to imagine Hearn letting a talent like Farooq simply slip away but the Pakistan-born Scot is leaving any talk of a contract extension to his manager Iain Wilson.

“This is the last fight of my Matchroom contract so it’s extra motivation to look good and put on a big performance,” added Farooq.

“I want to impress Eddie and hopefully build a long-term relationship with him and Matchroom. I’ll leave that side of things to Iain, he sorts all those things for me.

“If I can get the job done in this fight then hopefully we can discuss a way forward together. I’ve enjoyed working with Matchroom and they’re the biggest platform in boxing so I really hope we can get something sorted to keep working together.”

With restrictions now lifted on crowd numbers in Scotland, big-time boxing is set to return. Undisputed world champion Josh Taylor is pencilled in to defend his four belts against Jack Catterall at the Glasgow Hydro on December 18.

With Taylor’s close pal McGregor having recently retained his European title, a rematch with Farooq on that undercard would be a hugely appealing prospect.

McGregor did not rule it out last week after his win in Belfast and Farooq would similarly be interested if the terms were right.

“Hopefully we can bring the big nights back to Scotland soon as I’ve missed fighting in front of a home crowd,” he added. “If things go well then I’d love to get something sorted before the end of the year. The Hydro would be great but even if it was back at the Emirates in Glasgow that would be brilliant, too.

“That would top my year if we could pull it off. Lee defended his European title recently like I expected so that could be an option later this year if everything was right for both of us.

“Lee and his people might want to take him down a different route but if the terms were right then I’d definitely be interested in that. If both of us keep winning and our stock goes up then I’m sure we will fight again at some point. And I’m sure a lot of people would love to see that happen.”