Liam Wilson has been urged to continue his dogged quest for a world title by rival Oscar Valdez, after the Mexican warrior won their WBO super-featherweight fight to deliver more pain for the Australian in Arizona.
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In front of a parochial full house at Desert Diamond Arena, the referee stopped the fight with 12 seconds left in the seventh round.
Wilson is part of a three-pronged Australian world-title assault this weekend in the US, with Tim Tszyu and Michael Zerafa hunting glory in Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday AEDT).
Wilson got off to an aggressive start, using his reach to pepper former world champion Valdez with his jab - but he changed tactics and paid the price when the bout turned into a brawl.
Valdez unleashed in the seventh, raining blows on the Queenslander to end the fight by technical knockout.
One of the three judges had scored the fight a 57-all draw up until that point while the other two had Valdez ahead 59-55 and 60-54.
The pair embraced outside the change-rooms post fight, with Valdez telling Wilson he should remember the promise he made to his dying dad about winning a world title.
As a 15-year-old, Wilson made a vow to his father Peter that he would win a world title in his honour.
"Remember that promise you made," Valdez told the now 28-year-old.
"This is my second time at being world champion, you've got to come back."
Valdez later told reporters of his respect for Wilson.
"I told him not to give up as I lost as well and it doesn't mean you're done, I'm a good example," Valdez said.
"He almost got me, he almost become world champion."
Wilson said the words meant a lot coming from Valdez, who also revealed the Australian had hurt him badly with a body blow early in the fight.
"He said, 'You're so close to being world champion, you nearly had me with a body shot in the early rounds'," Wilson told AAP.
"It's not the result I was looking for but I'm proud to be in these sort of fights, be in the wars and compete with a two-time world champion.
"I was on a good roll but I just got caught by a few too many punches.
"I didn't fight smart - the first two rounds I was boxing, using my distance. (But) my heart took over me and if I want to do that I need to tidy it up."
Wilson was making his return to the venue where he suffered a shattering world-title loss to another Mexican, Emanuel Navarrete, in 2023.
Last year, Wilson stunned the three-division superstar in the fourth round, but the home-town favourite used his experience to turn a 10-second count into a 27-second recovery, before going on to stop the Australian in the ninth round.
The Valdez defeat was another missed opportunity for Wilson, following the announcement this week the WBO had elevated the fight to world-title status - with the winner declared the interim world champion.
The incumbent Navarrete has elected to move up and fight Denys Berinchyk in May for the vacant WBO lightweight world title.
If Navarrete wins and decides to stay at lightweight as expected, Valdez will be promoted to full champion.
Wilson insisted he was still young enough and hungry enough to reach his goal.
"I'm 28 years old, I've had 16 fights and I have a pretty impressive record for the amount of fights I've had, so I'll get back in there," he said.
"Wherever the hard fights are I will go there."
Australian Associated Press
