Liam Wilson Says He Was Already In Camp When Navarrete Fight Came Up
Felt ready to go for his contest last Friday
Australian junior lightweight Liam Wilson was originally supposed to fight England’s Archie Sharp, on the undercard of the Jermell Charlo-Tim Tszyu championship bout on January 28 in Las Vegas
Upon accepting an offer to replace an injured Oscar Valdez against Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title, Wilson was already feeling ready to go.
Ultimately, it was a blessing in disguise. Charlo (35-1-1, 19KOs) suffered a broken left hand during training camp last Christmas Eve, so the January 28 fight was canceled. A week before his stateside debut, Wilson accepted an offer to fight Navarrete for his first major title and did not miss a beat in camp.
“I had a fight lined up for around this time, so it was really only a six-day difference,” Wilson told BoxingScene.com. “I was originally due to fight on the Charlo-Tszyu undercard. I was already training for that fight when the fight with Navarrete came up. The ducks lined up in a row for this one.”
“For me, it’s just another fight,” insisted Wilson, who has previously fought exclusively in Australia since turning pro in 2018. “The biggest difference, of course, is that beating Archie Sharp would have led me to the world title, whereas now I’m actually fighting for the title. One is more experienced than the other, and both have more pro experience than me, but they don’t have my amateur background.
Last Friday, Navarrete scored a 9th-round TKO vs. Liam Wilson. Despite the loss, The Australian displayed excellent skill and strategy during the contest, and even dropped Navarrete in the fourth round.