Liam Wilson’s date with destiny has arrived as the Australian star looks to become the nation’s third active world champion when he takes on Emanuel Navarrete at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Wilson (11-1, 7KO) is aiming to hand Navarrete (36-1, 30KO) his first loss in over 10 years, while the Aussie’s rival is aiming to become a world champion at his third weight class and keep alive his absurd streak in world title fights, which sits at 10-0.
Follow Aussie Liam Wilson’s world title shot against Emanuel Navarrete in our live blog below!
Watch Australia’s own Liam Wilson take his shot at the WBO super-featherweight title against Emanuel Navarrete Live and Free Feb 4 on Kayo Freebies. Prelims from 11am, main card from 2pm. Join now and start streaming instantly >
Wilson: I’ll be next Aussie World Champ | 01:34
MORE WILSON v NAVARRETE
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‘I’M A F***ING FIGHTER’: Why George Rose is gambling $1 million on Aussie boxing underdog
‘THROWING BEER AT THE COPS’: Wild backstory, and promise to a dying father, fuelling Aussie title dream
OLYMPIAN STUNS WITH BRUTAL UPPERCUT
American Olympian Richard Torrez Jr has decimated James Bryant with a thunderous left uppercut that ultimately brought an early end to the fight.
Torrez Jr, who won his fifth professional fight and earned his fifth finish, was dominant from the get-go against his older rival and refused to give him a second to breathe.
The bout came to a close when Torrez Jr dropped Bryant with a perfectly-placed uppercut that sent the latter tumbling to the canvas, but he managed to recover in time and was saved by the bell at the end of the first round.
However, upon returning to his corner, Bryant’s team declared him unable to continue as Torrez Jr got the main card off to a perfect start.
STAR SUFFERS NASTY CUT IN DIRTY BATTLE
Andres Cortes suffered a nasty cut just above his left eye as a result of a headbutt in his junior lightweight bout.
Cortes copped the brutal gash when his head clashed against Luis Melendez’s cranium, although he managed to fight through the pain.
When he went to the corner after the round in which he suffered the cut, Cortes’ cutman ‘Stitch’ Duran did a wonder job to ensure it wouldn’t bleed.
But just before the seventh round began, the referee brought the doctor up to the canvas to assess the injury.
The doctor allowed the contest and Cortes to continue, as he racked up the punches against Melendez.
The latter at one point was involved in an unsportsmanlike act when he pressed his glove into the cut when the two clinched, but it did little to halt Cortes’ advances.
Cortes would go on to win via unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the contest 100-90 in his favour.
TEAM WILSON’S LAST-DITCH WEIGH-IN REQUEST FOR RIVAL DENIED
Liam Wilson’s team have failed in their bid to have Mexican superstar Emanuel Navarrete weigh in at 4pm on fight day here in Glendale, Arizona.
In the wake of ‘ScaleGate’, Team Wilson were asking to have the two-division champ weigh in a second time.
The push follows ongoing concerns from the Australian’s corner that their rival may be significantly heavier than usual given, they allege, he deliberately weighed in heavy on scales that had been “tampered with”.
It is understood promoter Top Rank denied the request, however.
Regardless, and despite initially suggesting they may boycott if a second weigh-in wasn’t staged, Wilson will fight for the WBO super featherweight title.
The Queenslander’s team also met with the Arizona State Boxing & MMA Commission on fight day to air concerns over what transpired at the weigh-ins.
FULL CARD
MAIN CARD (from 2pm AEDT)
Liam Wilson vs Emanuel Navarrete (for the vacant WBO junior lightweight title)
Arnold Barboza Jr vs Jose Pedraza (junior welterweight)
Richard Torrez Jr def James Bryant via TKO (end of Round One)
PRELIMS (from 11:10am AEDT)
Andres Cortes def Luis Melendez via UD (100-90 x 3)
Nico Ali Walsh def Eduardo Ayala via UD (60-53, 59-55 x 2)
Lindolfo Delgado def Clarence Booth via UD (80-71, 79-72 x 2)
Emiliano Vargas def Francisco Duque via UD (40-36 x 3)
Follow Aussie Liam Wilson’s world title shot against Emanuel Navarrete in our live blog below!