Liam Wilson doubles down on challenge to Kambosos after knocking out Youssef Dib in eight
By Anthony Cocks
Liam Wilson’s career hung in the balance as he walked towards the ring to face Youssef Dib in his lightweight debut at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia on Wednesday night.
It was hoped that a move up to the 135-pound weight class would rejuvenate his career.
It did.
Wilson stopped Dib in the eighth round, and immediately renewed his call to face George Kambosos Jr.
The plucky 28-year-old from Caboolture in Queensland had been having a rough time of things of late. Two trips to the United States to face world class junior lightweight opponents in the past 18 months had ended in disastrous fashion. Murderous punchers Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez finished him off inside the distance of what were otherwise competitive fights, leaving him languishing with a record of 2-2 in his last four outings.
Critics will argue that Sydneysider Dib, 31, was tailormade for Wilson, and in a sense he was. Against Navarrete and Valdez, Wilson only got into trouble when he opted to trade with the heavy-handed Mexican duo. Dib, with a modest record of 11 knockouts out of 21 wins against one loss, was never going to be the guy to shake him up early and drag him into a brawl in their scheduled 10-round fight.
For the first two rounds Dib used every inch of the ring, circling left and right and challenging Wilson to come find him. The game plan seemed to be to frustrate Wilson into making mistakes. When that didn’t work, Dib knew he would need to engage more.
Things heated up in late in round three when a Wilson right uppercut followed by a left rip found their target. Not to be outdone, Dib fired home a right cross to the jaw.
The fourth round saw the body attack come into play for Wilson as he fired off a pair of left hooks downstairs late in the round before finding Dib’s chin with a crunching right hand. Dib regrouped in the fifth, bloodying Wilson’s nose early in proceedings but had the favor returned late in the same stanza.
Dib pushed forward in the sixth, landing counter rights over the left hand lead of Wilson, who was looking a little reckless. Late in the round Wilson landed a jarring left hook and a stiff right cross, but Dib had already banked his best round of the fight so far.
In the seventh, Wilson poured on the pressure, determined to see if Dib could withstand his ferocious attacks. At the halfway point, a thunderous rip to the body visibly hurt Dib. And although he snuck through a couple of good right hands himself, the attack to the midriff left him reeling.
Sensing he had his opponent hurt, Wilson went in for the kill in the eighth – and he did it in style. A short left hook to the whiskers rocked Dib early in the round, sending him backwards on his heels. Wilson jumped on him, pushing him back to give himself a little space, then landed a long left hook to the chin of Dib who was backed up against the ropes. One final left hook crumpled Dib to the canvas.
Referee Les Fear stopped the contest at the 0:45 mark of the round. Wilson was leading on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage, 68-65 and 67-66 twice.
The finish was as beautiful as it was savage.
“The game plane was to box and pick my shots,” said Wilson (14-3, 8 KOs) after the win on the Sam Goodman vs Chainoi Worawut undercard. “I knew if I paced myself, the shot would come. I didn’t even mean to hurt him but when I did, I followed it up with another couple of left hooks.”
Wilson has been calling out former Ring lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr (21-3, 10 KOs) for some time and he didn’t let the opportunity slip him by in the post-fight interview.
“I’ve been calling out for that fight for quite some time now,” Wilson said of the 31-year-old Sydneysider, who is 1-3 in his past four bouts.
“Me and my team, my manager Glen Jennings, we really want that fight. The move to lightweight tonight was purely for that reason.
“It’s a fight that Australia deserves. And doesn’t George want his own domestic showdown? I certainly do. Let’s get it on. Let’s get it happening.”
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