WBO junior lightweight world champion – Mikaela Mayer has said she is ready to prove that she is the best active boxer in the junior lightweight division as she takes on longtime IBF world champion – Maiva Hamadouche in a title unification tilt this Friday, November 5 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Mayer [15-0, 5 KOs], ranked No. 5 on ESPN.com’s pound-for-pound list, is making the second defense of the title she won in October 2020. Hamadouche [22-1, 18 KOs], from France, has defended her title six times and is unbeaten since a 2015 decision loss to Belgian star Delfine Persoon.
“My mindset is that I’m here to challenge myself to the best of my ability in this fight and for the rest of my career. She has been a champion for six years, but in all that time she didn’t even push for a world title unification bout. I had to go out there and be very vocal and push hard to make this fight happen,” Mikaela said at Wednesday’s press conference.
“This is the biggest fight of my career. This is my chance to show that I’m the best fighter in my division. Winning this fight and performing very well will put me as the top player in the division. One fight at a time, but since I became a world champion, we are looking at big fights only.”
“We know her style. She is right. She is aggressive, and I haven’t faced someone as aggressive in my professional career, but I have faced plenty of styles as an amateur. We are prepared for it. If she thinks she is going to bully me, that will not be the case.”
“Talking from experience, that extra minute could change a fight. You could have more knockouts and more finishes.”
According to Hamadouche, however, her rich experience in the sport will make the difference on fight night:
“This is an exciting opportunity for me. I have defended the title on multiple occasions and now this is a great opportunity to unify world titles.”
“I believe my experience will be the difference. I’m very aggressive and very physical. I will come at her like no other fighter has come at her before.”
“I think that fighting at three-minute rounds will be very good for me. That’s exactly what I want.”
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