JOSE LUIS Bueno Duarte the last part of the surname is not normally used always wanted to be a footballer and would still prefer football to boxing.

But in the poverty stricken area of Nezahualcoyoti in Mexico where he was born, boxing represented a better chance of a meal ticket and his rewards so far have been considerable, including a world super flyweight title.

When a move up in weight became imperative he set out to become champion at bantamweight and he gets his chance tomorrow night at The Point in Dublin when he takes on the WBO champion Wayne McCullough from Belfast in what promises to be a lively affair.

Bueno admits that his is not an easy task and he admires what McCullough has achieved. He is particularly impressed by the fact that McCullough went to Nagoya in Japan to challenge local boy and reigning world champion, Yasuei Yakushiji, and won the World Boxing Council title.

Speaking through an interpreter in Dublin this week Bueno declares. "I know how hard you have to work and how much it costs to win a world title. Beating Yakushiji in Japan was a great achievement know because I had to go to Korea to win my flyweight title from Sung Kil Moon. I also lost in 12 rounds to Hiroshi Kawashima in Japan. Winning in those countries is never easy".

He clearly doesn't think that winning on McCullough's home patch in Dublin where he has fought probably dozens of times as an amateur and twice as a professional, is going to be easy either.

Yet Bueno can't conceal a certain resentment against McCullough's handlers, probably more than against McCullough himself. McCullough's promoters threw a press conference in Las Vegas last month where Bueno was announced as the title challenger and, at the same time, John Michael Johnson was introduced as challenger number two for a date next June.

"It was as though I wasn't being treated as a serious challenger. For that I will take his title. He should not have disrespected (sic) me," he said.

Bueno has done some serious homework. He visited Victor Rabanales to discuss McCullough's style after McCullough had beaten Rabanales on points in Atlantic City in June of 1994. Rabanales was less than happy with that verdict and still claims he should have been given the verdict.

Bueno now says that Rabanales has given him the key to victory. "He has told me how to beat and knock out McCullough. I would not have taken the fight if I wasn't confident that I would win. Wayne is a good champion but I am better. The whole world will see my devastating power. The Irish people will see a new champion," he says.

Bueno says that he feels much stronger at the heavier weight. Earlier this week he said that he was only a kilo (2.2 lb) over the limit and that this was a good position to be in given the fact that he had a very long and wearing trip from Mexico City.

"I feel very strong right now but I know about McCullough's fanatical fitness regime and I will be well prepared for him.

"Of course I respect him. He is the champion and I am getting a chance to win the title. If you don't respect your opponent you shouldn't be in boxing. I would love to be looking down into the ring when I win the title on Saturday night so that I could see the look on my face.

"I have made this my one ambition in life," he says.

He is accustomed to be the under dog on an occasion like this. When he went to Korea to fight for the super flyweight title in 1993 he was very much in that position. The predictions seemed apt when he visited the canvas in the third round.

However, he fought his way out of his difficulties and went the distance to win on a split decision. Against a boxer of the calibre of Sung Kil Moon on Korean soil that was a similar performance in many ways to the achievement of McCullough against Yashuei Yakushiji in Japan.

What emerges then is the prospect of a really lively exchange. Both boxers throw a lot of punches, are fast on their feet and experienced users of ring space.

McCullough's previous title defence in Belfast last December was a great disappointment because the challenger from Denmark seemed more intent on survival than on going out to win. One senses that Bueno will be a different prospect altogether.