QUEBEC CITY, Canada — In February, former middleweight title challenger Maciej Sulecki travelled to Kazakhstan to face Ali Akhmedov. He was supposed to be fodder for the local fighter to beat and move onto something bigger.

Sulecki didn't read the script and promptly dominated and stopped Akhmedov in the final round. The career-best win earned him a fight with Christian Mbilli for the vacant WBC Interim super middleweight title on Friday at Videotron Centre.

The upset-minded Polish fighter, who is ranked No. 7 by the WBC, hopes to follow on from his last fight and level up again.

"This is for me a big honor, I am ready for a great fight, I had a good camp, I had good sparring partners," Sulecki (33-3, 13 KOs) said at Wednesday's press conference. "I know Christian Mbilli, he is a good fighter, very strong, aggressive, sometimes he's very wild in the ring but I know what I have to do in the ring and I am ready."

Mbilli has been touted as a big player in the 168-pound division, notably named by Turki Alalshikh as someone who could take one of the prized undercard slots on the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford mega fight in September or even on another date in the fall.

"Now the most important fight is with me, this will be a very difficult fight for him," Sulecki said. "Everyone can talk, they can have a plan for him but he will fight with me, and it will be difficult."

The 36-year-old has been a professional since 2010 and holds wins over then-unbeaten Hugo Centeno Jr (TKO10) and former title challenger Jack Culcay (UD10).

Former world champion Daniel Jacobs inflicted his first pro defeat via 12-round unanimous decision in his maiden fight over the full distance during a WBA 160-pound title eliminator.

He was victorious on his return, bested seasoned veteran Gabe Rosado (UD10) before coming up short against then-WBO champion Demetrius Andrade again by decision. Four consecutive victories put him in prime position for a big fight, before rising force Diego Pacheco pitched a sixth-round stoppage win at his expense in August.

Most would have expected him to ride off into the sunset, but he had other ideas and shocked Akhmedov. Four months later, Sulecki intends on doing the same to Mbilli.

"He doesn't have a huge name in the boxing world yet, that's why he hasn't fought anyone with a big last name yet," he said. "I'm ready to pay if I have to pay but it's not going to happen, let's wait and see."

Mbilli, The Ring's No. 1-rated super middleweight, represented France at the 2016 Olympics before losing to eventual champion Arlen Lopez in the quarterfinals. He moved to Canada, where he is now a citizen, and after taking the usual steps he has worked his way up the rankings.

The all-action 30-year-old fighter scored an eye-catching knockout over former title challenger Nadjib Mohammedi (KO 5), engaged in a thrill-a-minute war with Carlos Gongora (UD 10), stopped Rohan Murdock (RTD 6) and, most recently, bested battle-hardened Sergiy Derevyanchenko (UD 10) on Aug. 17.

Mbilli vs. Sulecki, plus undercard bouts, will broadcast on ESPN+ on Friday (6 p.m. ET).