advertisement
Written by Norm Frauenheim –
PHOENIX – Liam Wilson is back in town on a mission to take back what was taken over a year ago.
“Unfinished business,” Wilson said of his junior lightweight bout against Oscar Valdez in a bout that aired on ESPN on Friday, putting him in a position to finally get the belt he believes he already has. He said there is a possibility that he will stand.
Wilson plans to return to the same arena, the Desert Diamond in nearby Glendale, to finish the controversial and messy job on February 3, 2023.
And at least an angry Wilson described the ring as if the canvas should have been surrounded by yellow crime tape instead of traditional rope.
Wilson said Emanuel Navarrete escaped with one shot.
Australian Wilson defeated the undefeated Mexican in four rounds.
Navarrete was clearly hurt and spat out his mouthpiece to buy time to regain consciousness and composure. After all, he got a lot of stuff. It took the referee 27 seconds to retrieve the mouthpiece.
After five rounds, Navarrete won the vacant World Boxing Organization 130-pound title with a nine-round stoppage.
But that wouldn't have happened without that long count, said Wilson, the only fighter to put Navarrete on the canvas.
“The whole world saw it,” Wilson said Wednesday at his final news conference in a hotel ballroom in downtown Phoenix. “I should have been world champion.”
Wilson did not file a formal complaint with the WBO or the Arizona Boxing & MMA Commission. He said Wednesday that he simply complained to the promoter. But he also said the Long Count controversy motivated him to return for a second shot at the world title.
“Arizona, it's great to be back,” said Wilson, an expedition warrior from Brisbane who trained in Thailand and Las Vegas.
On Tuesday, the WBO ruled that Wilson (13-2, 7 KOs) and Valdez (31-2, 23 KOs) are competing for the interim belts, giving them another shot at the title — the same title. was born. What happens next is up to Navarrete.
Aiming for a four-division belt, he will fight for the vacant lightweight title against Ukraine's Denis Belinchyk on May 18 in San Diego.
If Navarrete wins as expected, he could decide to defend his 135-pound title and vacate the 130-pound title.
In that case, the WBO announced that it would promote the winner of Wilson vs. Valdez from provisional to real. Inevitable controversy will ensue. You can already hear the social media mob shouting “email apologist!”
But at least it won't be a long count.
The controversy left angry reactions and lessons. In other words, Wilson has no illusions about returning to Arizona State. It will be difficult for him to win a decision.
Valdez, a former featherweight and junior lightweight champion, is favored in part because the crowd promises to be with him. He's popular in Arizona. The two-time Mexican Olympic athlete grew up in Nogales, about a three-hour drive from Phoenix.His roots are in Tucson
Despite losing a decision to Navarrete at Desert Diamond last August, the crowd cheered him on.
“They said thank you for your performance,” Valdez said. “At first I wondered why they were thanking me for losing.”
Above all, this was a sure sign that Valdez had a very loyal following.They plan to be there for him on Friday
He'll captivate the crowd and give Wilson a pretty good idea of what he has in store.
“I don't have a choice,” he said. “I came here to knock him out.”
 |
Add ReplyForward reaction |
advertisement
