Jeff Horn v Tim Tszyu: Liam Wilson’s deathbed vow to father fuels world title ambitions
Super-featherweight Liam Wilson will bring a fury forged by adversity and tragedy when he faces Jackson Woods on the Jeff Horn-Tim Tszyu undercard, and a burning motivation to honour his late father.
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As he watched his gravely-ill father die before his eyes, Liam Wilson made a bedside pledge to his hero.
Next Wednesday night, Wilson will take a step closer to that pledge when the power-packed super-featherweight faces Jackson Woods on the undercard of the Jeff Horn-Tim Tszyu blockbuster in Townsville.
Eight years ago, Wilson’s father, Peter, took his final breaths. Alcohol had been his crutch. Battling pneumonia, his liver began shutting down when the nurse summoned a 16-year-old Liam to say one last goodbye.
“On my dad’s deathbed, I made a promise to him I would win a world title and I will do it,” said Wilson, now 24 and with two children of his own, Charlotte and Maverick.
“Dad’s death is added motivation for me.
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“When I look at my daughter, it reminds me how my dad was with me when I was young. It makes me cry about it ... tears of joy.
“After dad died, I’d be sitting at school in maths, thinking surely that wasn’t the last time I’ve seen him.
“I’ve come to accept it but the fact he never saw his grandkids breaks my heart.”
Wonderboy Wilson is rated Australia’s next world champion.
He is unbeaten in six professional fights, including a fifth-round knockout of Jesus Cuadro in his last bout in February, clubbing the Venezuelan veteran with a vicious left hook that put him to sleep.
It is a fury forged by adversity and tragedy from his youngest years.
When Wilson was three, his late father was locked up for a high-speed car chase with police.
His parents had an argument and an angry Peter Wilson put their three kids in his XR Falcon and sped off, Liam sitting clueless in the back seat as his brother chucked beer cans at the pursuing police.
“He went to jail for 18 months that police chase,” Wilson recalled. “It happened just outside of Kingaroy.
“I don’t remember if I visited him in jail, but it would have been tough for him not seeing his kids in more than a year.
“Dad had his personal battles, but he was my biggest supporter and I will always love him.”
Wilson’s promoter Dean Lonergan, who is also aligned with Jeff Horn, says the Queenslander is special.
“Liam is the next superstar of boxing and he will be Australia’s next world champion,” he said.
“It’s a big call but Liam has had 138 amateur fights for 124 wins.
“He can box or he can stand in the trenches and throw punches like a madman so he can be as good as Jeff Horn and Jeff Fenech.
“Liam is the real deal.”
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Wilson has sparred with Horn in recent weeks and is ready to bludgeon Woods in Townsville.
“I love fighting. I love getting into the trenches and seeing who the better man is. I love seeing who is tougher,” he said.
“My power is my strength. My presence in the ring at my weight breaks opponents.
“I never fear being in the ring because life itself is harder than boxing. Raising kids is harder than boxing. A fight goes for 30 or 45 minutes and I train for that for eight weeks.
“I believe I am No. 1 at super-featherweight in Australia and if anyone disputes that, come and fight me.”