Liam Wilson vying for fight with George Kambosos after featherweight world title fight
Liam Wilson says he’s ready to produce a ‘boilover’ in America like fellow Aussie George Kambosos. However, the links don’t stop there, with Wilson ready for a potential megafight against the Spartan warrior.
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Liam Wilson says he would relish an all-Australian blockbuster against George Kambosos as he looks to emulate ‘Ferocious’ by producing another world-title boilover on American soil.
Kambosos rocketed into the stable of Australian sporting superstars in November 2021 when he stunned Teofimo Lopez to snatch four world-title straps in a life-changing moment of glory in New York.
Now, 15 months later, Wilson gets his shot at sporting immortality, the Queenslander thrust into his maiden world-title showdown with Mexican mauler Emanuel Navarrete at Arizona’s Desert Diamond Arena.
Victory would seal Wilson’s coronation as Australian boxing’s second current male champion alongside Jai Opetaia.
Defeat would not be a career-ending setback for a 26-year-old who has ample time on his side to scale the world-title summit.
Either way, Wilson lives for a challenge and, in domestic boxing terms, there are few as potentially lucrative or explosive as a showdown with Kambosos, the feisty Spartan warrior looking to rise again in 2023 after back-to-back world-title losses to Devin Haney.
Wilson (11-1, 7KO) is ranked No. 3 by the WBO at super featherweight. Kambosos (20-2, 10KO) fights one division above Wilson at lightweight.
American critics of Kambosos have urged him to drop down to Wilson’s 130-pound class, claiming he is “too small and weak” to truly dominate the likes of Haney, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Gervonta Davis at lightweight.
The alternative is that Wilson steps out of his comfort zone and rises to lightweight to take on Kambosos. It’s a scenario that does not scare him.
“I have always imagined myself to have an all-Australian showdown … a big fight in our country,” Wilson told News Corp in the build-up to his moment of truth against Navarrete (36-1, 30KO).
“Everyone knows I’m happy to take the hard fights so what’s another one? It doesn’t bother me.
“There’s Paul Fleming (fellow Australian super featherweight who is 28-0-1), or if I have to go up in weight and test myself against George Kambosos, that’s something I’m willing to do.
“I admire what Kambosos has achieved. But for myself and the fans of Australia, we could share a moment together and create history.”
Kambosos likely has other ideas.
The 29-year-old craves world-title redemption and wants world boxing’s biggest names at 135 pounds, but if Wilson can shock Navarrete, the blond-haired hitman from Caboolture suddenly has more bargaining power.
Wilson’s manager Steve Scanlan believes his fighter has the class and size to seriously challenge Ferocious.
“Liam would love to fight George Kambosos,” Scanlan said.
“If Liam wins this world title, there is no reason why George Kambosos should not fight Liam Wilson in an all-action, pay-per-view blockbuster in Australia.
“This win against Navarrete would prove that Liam is world class.
“We would probably have to go up to lightweight to fight George. Liam has the ability to do that.
“Liam has the utmost respect for George. He knows he was a unified world champion, but it would be a wonderful opportunity for Liam to showcase what he has got against a great fighter like George.
“Liam is not afraid to take risks and we all believe in him so much. If he really wanted to have a crack at George Kambosos and the opportunity is there for him to do it, we would absolutely look to start talks on it.
“George has the speed and the experience but then again, Liam has the potential to knock anybody out.
“Kambosos against Liam Wilson would be a cracker … I don’t think there would be a bigger fight in Australia.”
FENECH: AUSTRALIA’S NEXT WORLD CHAMPION BECKONS
Australian boxing great Jeff Fenech believes Liam Wilson is ready to stage another big-fight boilover in America and become the first Queenslander since Jeff Horn to win a world title.
Caboolture product Wilson has arrived in Arizona as he ramps up preparations for his maiden world-title shot against Mexican champion Emanuel Navarrete at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale this Saturday (AEDT).
American bookmakers believe the 26-year-old Wilson – who will face Navarrete for the vacant WBO super featherweight belt – has no hope.
The Aussie started as a gargantuan $18 outsider in a two-horse race, with boxing pundits believing the furious, rapid-fire punching of “mad” Mexican Navarrete (36-1, 30KO) will pulverise Wilson (11-1, 7KO), who has had just 12 professional fights.
But just 15 months ago, countryman George Kambosos defied the odds with his stunning world-title defeat of Teofimo Lopez on American soil — and Hall-of-Fame icon Fenech backed Wilson to strike paydirt in the US desert.
Australia currently has one male boxing world champion in cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia. Fenech, The Marrickville Mauler, warned Navarrete to brace for a Wilson war.
“Mark my words — Liam Wilson can win this fight,” Fenech said.
“As soon as this fight was signed, I said to so many people, get behind Liam, he will cause an upset.
“I don’t believe Liam is just a puncher’s chance, he is a serious chance of beating Navarrete.
“When I first saw Liam box a few years ago, I always thought he was very talented and he is one of Australia’s most promising talents.
“The only way Liam will lose is if he gets completely KO’d and I don’t think that will happen.
“I am very confident Australia will have another world champion this weekend and if it happens, Liam can hold his belt for a while.”
Navarrete, a ruthless volume puncher, is unbeaten in 10 years and has won world titles in two smaller divisions at featherweight and super bantamweight, but Wilson is confident he has the size to trouble the 28-year-old Mexican.
Fenech agrees. The Australian legend won world titles across four weight classes and says Wilson, who at 176cm is six centimetres taller than Navarrete, has the height and power to go toe-to-toe with the champion.
Navarrete’s countryman, the brilliant Canelo Alvarez (58-2-2, 39KO), got a shock last May when he rose to light heavyweight and was outgunned by ruthless Russian Dmitrii Bivol (21-0, 11KO).
“Every time you go up in weight it gets harder and harder and I can vouch for that,” Fenech said.
“Navarrete is a classy fighter, but he is coming up in weight and he hasn’t fought anyone Liam’s size.
“He hasn’t faced anyone with Liam’s punching power.
“Liam is the underdog which is great. The pressure is on the Mexican to win.
“He has an amazing attitude to want to fight, he has no fear and if Navarrete wants to brawl, Liam won’t be intimidated.
“I honestly believe Liam can win this fight and pull off a shock to become a world champion.”
Wilson, ranked No. 3 by the WBO, says Navarrete’s aura won’t spook him into a tame submission.
“He is a volume puncher when he gets in his groove and all of his opponents have allowed him to do that,” Wilson said.
“But I won’t sit back. I plan on bringing the fight to him as well.
“It won’t be a one-way street for him.
“He is a weight bully — but for the first time in his career, he will be fighting someone bigger than him in me.”
WILSON OUT TO END DECADE-LONG ‘MEXICAN MADMAN’ REIGN
Liam Wilson still remembers the magical moment that stopped the nation … and sowed the seed for his pugilistic dream.
He is one of the ‘Suncorp Survivors’; among the 50,000 throng who flocked to Queensland’s iconic amphitheatre on July 2, 2017 – the day Jeff Horn shocked Filipino legend Manny Pacquiao to become world champion and Australia’s newest sporting hero.
As a bloodied Horn was hoisted to the heavens, Wilson – the 20-year-old slugger from Caboolture – sat ringside, absorbing his living, breathing template to the top.
Now, almost six years later, suddenly, unbelievably, almost imperceptibly, Wilson has a glorious chance to emulate Horn by conquering the boxing world.
Next Saturday afternoon (AEDT), Wilson will be Australia’s rough diamond in the American desert when he takes on Mexican “madman” Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant WBO super featherweight world title in Glendale, Arizona.
It is one of the most significant contests on the 2023 Australian sporting calendar.
The 26-year-old is the first Queenslander since Horn to challenge for a boxing world title.
And like ‘The Hornet’ when he pummelled ‘Pac Man’ on that seminal afternoon at Suncorp, Wilson is a massive underdog. He has had just 12 professional fights for 11 wins, seven by knockout.
The 28-year-old Navarrete has won 36 of his 37 career bouts, is a two-division world champion and comes armed with a furious, high-octane punching style that has seen him amass a brutal 81 per cent knockout rate.
The bout will be beamed to millions of fight fans in America, Australia and the United Kingdom. Bookmakers have installed Navarrete at $1.05 to beat Wilson, and $1.30 to knock him out. The odds are stacked against Wilson … and that’s just the way the Aussie likes it.
“I’m facing fear head on,” Wilson tells News Corp from his American training base in Washington.
“This moment is something I have dreamed of since I was a little kid.
“I will tell you this now, I will win the fight. Don’t worry about that.
“I know the odds are against me, but I’m confident that Navarrete hasn’t fought anyone like me and I can’t wait to show the world that.
“I know talk is cheap. But I will let my hands do the talking and show everybody I am world class.
“I was there at Suncorp the day Jeff Horn beat Manny Pacquiao. It was something I couldn’t believe from close range and credit to Jeff, he defied all the odds and the doubters.
“He was a massive underdog and I’m in the same position as him now. The odds are the same. He was paying $9 to win and I’m paying $9 just to win.
“Hopefully history can repeat itself and another Aussie and Queensland fighter can cause an upset and become a world champion.”
If you haven’t heard of Navarrete, Google him.
One five-minute clip on YouTube is a sufficient character reference. It is a frightening exhibition of punching power. The Mexican mauler doesn’t so much dominate his opponents as bludgeon them with a rapid-fire arsenal of blows.
A decade has passed and Navarrete has not been beaten.
“He hasn’t lost a fight in 10 years so it’s a phenomenal record, but that’s what I have to do to become world champion,” Wilson said.
“It is a great reign, he is a true champion and what he has achieved in boxing can’t be disputed.
“Ironically, my heroes were actually Mexican fighters. I loved watching Erik Morales and (Juan Manuel) Marquez. I watched their fights over and over and I would get tears in my eyes watching how beautiful they were as boxers.
“Now I’m facing another Mexican champion. Navarrete is a volume puncher and a bad man, but he is a weight bully. He is coming up a division, so I will be the biggest, strongest puncher he has ever faced.
“He won’t handle my size and power. The Mexicans are going to love me after I beat him in this fight.”
There are eerie parallels between Horn and Wilson. There’s the blue eyes and blond hair and outside the ring, both are softly-spoken souls who could pass as choirboys. But inside the ring, Wilson’s competitive fire emerges.
“I was always a fighter as a kid,” said Wilson, who took up boxing aged nine in Kingaroy, the same Queensland town that produced Test cricket great Matthew Hayden, before moving to Caboolture north of Brisbane.
“I remember my best mate coming to school in grade four with a boxing trophy and I was extremely jealous.
“I was playing soccer at the time, so I went home that day and said to dad, can you take me down to the local boxing gym?
“My best mate ended up dropping out of boxing, but I stuck with it and all these years on, here I am fighting for a world title.
“I’ve always had this fighting bone in my body. If it wasn’t boxing, I would have found some sort of combat sport, but I’m glad I fell in love with boxing.
“I get great satisfaction out of fighting and seeing another man break in front of me.
“I’m placid outside the ring but when I step into the ring, I can be an animal when I need to be.
“It’s all good to knock someone out but to see another man slowly disintegrate, it’s a satisfying feeling.
“I’ve done that to a few men now and it’s an enjoyable thing to do.
“Navarrete is next on my hit list.”
Just 18 months ago, Wilson’s career was at the crossroads when he suffered the only loss of his pro career _ a shock fifth-round stoppage against world-ranked Filipino Joe ‘The Jawbreaker’ Noynay in Newcastle.
But Wilson exacted revenge eight months later, knocking out Noynay inside two rounds at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena with a savage left hook that reignited his world-title ambitions.
“That was a wake-up call,” Wilson said of his shock defeat.
“To lose so badly and for my two kids to watch me go down was really heartbreaking.
“To them, I’m their superhero, I am not meant to lose. For me to come home a loser, I had to bounce back and do it for them. I was in a few different states of mind, could I bounce back? What if I lost again?
“That loss ultimately taught me that I had to go back to the drawing board and become the ultimate professional.
“I took the Noynay rematch straight away because I wanted to show myself, my family and Australian fans that I can be world-champion material.
“I would love to be the face of Australian boxing. I don’t do boxing for fame and fortune. I do it because I love the sport. I fight with a lot of pride and integrity, so to follow in the footsteps of a Jeff Horn or George Kambosos would be nice.
“I am going in there against Navarrete to box, but I am going in there to knock him out as well.
“He will be looking for the exact same thing as me so let’s see where the fight takes us.
“We both have great punching power … it will be wild while it lasts.”
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