Maiva Hamadouche has accomplished a lot since suffering her lone career defeat in just her tenth pro fight.

Among the few boxes she hasn’t checked off during her current win streak and lengthy IBF junior lightweight title reign is the opportunity to unify the belts.

That changes this weekend, as Hamadouche (22-1, 18KOs) faces unbeaten WBO junior lightweight titlist Mikaela Mayer this Friday on ESPN+ from Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

“This is an exciting opportunity for me,” Hamadouche stated during the final pre-fight press conference held on site Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve been waiting a long time for an opportunity like this.”

Hamadouche also makes her U.S. debut and first pro fight anywhere outside of Europe as she aims to make the seventh defense of the IBF belt she earned in a ten-round decision over former champ Jennifer Salinas in November 2016. The win came exactly 52 weeks following her lone loss, a ten-round unanimous decision to Delfine Persoon, who at the time was nearly 18 months into her eventual five-plus year run as a WBC lightweight champion.

Thirteen victories have followed for Hamadouche, including seven in major title fights. An inability to secure the division’s best prompted her to sign with Matchroom Boxing, who also promotes WBC/IBO junior lightweight titlist Terri ‘Belter’ Harper (11-0-1, 6KOs) and long-reigning WBA titlist Hyun Mi Choi (19-0-1, 5KOs).

Interestingly, her first opportunity comes outside that realm though not before making history of her own. The 31-year-old Paris native became the first ever active major titlist to participate in the Olympics, representing France in this past summer’s delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Hamadouche didn’t make it out of the first round of competition, though undeterred as she looks to add to her pro portfolio. It comes on a Top Rank-promoted show versus the company’s lone female fighter in Mayer, a 2016 U.S. Olympian who makes the second defense of her WBO title. With her reign having lasted longer than Mayer’s pro career, Hamadouche isn’t worried about conceding any advantages that won’t help either fighter inside the ring.

“My experience first and foremost but also my aggression are things she has not yet experienced,” insisted Hamadouche, who has stopped her last four opponents. “I am very physical, I will come straight at her in a way her previous opponents were not able to.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox