Liam Wilson makes 135-pound debut vs Youssef Dib, with George Kambosos in his crosshairs
Liam Wilson cut a forlorn figure as he was being interviewed by ESPN’s Mark Kriegel in the ring at the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, Arizona in March.
The 28-year-old Australian was sheepishly trying to explain why he abandoned his boxing in favor of brawling with tough Mexican Oscar Valdez in what was otherwise a competitive fight at junior lightweight.
“I tried to box the first few rounds and my heart got the better of me,” said Wilson, who was stopped on his feet with seconds left to go in the seventh-round by referee Mark Nelson after repeatedly being hurt in the last minute of the stanza and not throwing back.
“I’ve got to learn from it and start using my boxing brain.”
That scrappiness and willingness to trade, even against his better judgement, is what makes Wilson must-see TV. But it doesn’t make for career longevity.
“It works at times, but sometimes I need to fight the fight that’s in front of me,” he said.
It’s not the first time his eagerness to please his fans and get the job done in style has come back to bite him.
A year before he faced Valdez, Wilson challenged Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant WBO super featherweight title at the same venue. Wilson had Navarrete down in the fourth round, with the heavy-handed Mexican given extra time to recover after spitting out his mouthpiece. It was a veteran move that bought him precious time to recuperate.
Navarrete made it back to his corner, recovered over the next couple of rounds, then began applying the pressure. Wilson went with him, punch for punch, but ultimately came off second best when he was dropped and stopped in the ninth.
Now for the second time in a year Wilson has had to go through a rebuild, but this time around it seems that he has finally accepted the inevitable. He needs to change his ways if he wants a lengthy career in the sport.
“I had to take a bit of time to recover and recoup and process my feelings, then it was back to the drawing board over the last 10 weeks,” said Wilson (13-3, 7 knockouts) to The Ring.
“There’s plenty more to do and after three losses, I really have to pull my finger out.”
Overcoming the mental inclination to swap bombs is easier said than done for a man who clearly enjoys being in the trenches.
“That’s exactly what I’ve been working on because it will give me more years in my career, I’ll have more years doing this,” said Wilson, who is as softly-spoken outside the ropes as he is violent inside them.
“Having my style, making it an all-out war, is only going to make it more difficult for me. Throughout this whole training camp, that’s what I’ve been focused on. Boxing my own fight.”
The Caboolture product will get to see how well those lessons have sunk in when he takes on Sydney’s Youssef Dib (21-1, 11 KOs) over 10 rounds at lightweight at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, New South Wales on Wednesday 10 July.
The fight will be the main support to Sam Goodman (18-0, 8 KOs), who is rated at No. 4 by The Ring at junior featherweight, risking his shot at undisputed 122-pound champion Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) against rugged Thai Chainoi Worawut (25-0-1, 15 KOs) in a 12-round bout.
For Wilson, who boxed as high as welterweight as an amateur, it’s a chance to see how his body adjusts to the 135-pound weight class.
“I feel really good starting in a new weight division,” he said. “Ultimately, I felt a lot more energy in my training camp. I feel fresher, I feel reenergized. Making (junior lightweight) was quite hard, so it’s all new to me. I’m looking forward to fight night, boxing in this new division.
“It’s going to be interesting. I’ll have to wait until fight night to see how I perform at this weight, being in the ring with another lightweight opponent, the training camp has been unreal. I feel bigger, I feel stronger, I’m well-conditioned for this weight. I feel like a new me, basically. I feel great.
“We will see how things go on fight night and we’ll reassess what we do as a team, whether we stay here of go back down to (junior lightweight).”
“I had some good performance at super featherweight, some good knockouts also, but I also think those big weight cuts could’ve taken a bit out of me as well.
“Myself, I’m interested to see how I go at this weight and see how it all unfolds on fight night. I think the power will definitely be there, it’s been there throughout this camp in sparring. I’m excited for this new challenge. It’s motivated me and sort of re-energized my boxing career.”
The 31-year-old Dib was on a nice run last year, beating Kye MacKenzie and Miles Zalewski before running into a red-hot Ibrahim Balla in December, losing a 10-round majority decision to the 2012 London Olympian before getting back into the win column against Nort Beauchamp in March.
“I’ve just got to box my fight, mate,” Wilson said of his opponent. “I think of the few losses that I’ve had at super featherweight and all the faults I’ve made in the past, I’m hoping to fix them come fight night. Yousef Dib will be my first opponent to trial that with.
“He’s a tough operator. He’s been around for a long time and he’s in good hands in his corner, so I’m expecting him to come with his A-game.”
Wilson also sees the Dib fight as an opportunity to audition for a shot at ex-Ring lightweight champion and IBF/WBA/WBO titleholder George Kambosos Jr (21-3, 10 KOs) in what would make for an enthralling all-Aussie showdown.
“It excites me. I know he’s a good boxer, he’s very game. I’m a good boxer too,” Wilson explained. “He’s had a few losses now, just like myself, so the fight makes complete sense, for Australia at least. I don’t know if the rest of the world wants to see it or not, but Australia wants to see it.
“And that’s why it makes complete sense. We’re two Aussies and as a country, we’ve lacked that big domestic rivalry. He’s my dance partner for this, but it takes two to tango.
“He’s done a little bit more than I have in his career. I fought for two world titles, and he won one. I wouldn’t say he’s the shot-caller, but I want the fight and now I’m just waiting on him.”
“We haven’t had that many big all-Aussie showdowns and I think this works well for both of us.”
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