Liam Wilson remembers his first police car chase, from his family’s XR Falcon to the brand of beer thrown at him.
“Yeah, XXXX Bitter,” he recalls, widening his smile to the memory.
“My old man, it was his favorite.
“And I remember my dad putting the carton on the floor in front of the passenger seat. So my brother Ethan kept picking up can after can and throwing it at the cop car behind us. .”
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Not that the missiles caused real carnage.
“Because Ethan was seven years old,” laughs the Queenslander who is now one of Australia’s most exciting young fighters.
Fresh from making his U.S. debut in a WBO super featherweight title match against Mexican superstar Emmanuel Navarrete, the 26-year-old Knock Artist is back on this particular day at just three years old.
With twin sister Shaani hunkered down in the backseat, dad Pete at the wheel, we drove through bush town back alleys and backyards like they were straight out of Hazzard County.
“I even remember Dad crashing through the backyard fence,” Wilson says.
fence?
“Oh, it was crazy. Chasing with sirens blaring, flying Fourex, and eventually recounting the old man’s 18-month imprisonment at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Center,” continues the fighter.
“I still don’t know what started it all.
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“But I know it was around the time my parents separated. It wasn’t good for my father.
“We lived in a town called Wattle Camp.
“And I remember one day the police came up the driveway and my dad put the kids in the car.
“Then… we were gone.
“I actually asked my mom recently if she could send me some old black and white news about it.”
So did you make the news?
“The chase went on for three hours,” he says.
Admittedly, this is some thread.
But not Wilson’s favorite.
No, the favorite memories the Australian breakout fight star has of the old man are years later, when he was a teenager, during a weekend visit, and at the end of a great day they had together. and my dad shadowboxing in the kitchen. .
A witty schoolboy who moves around that kitchen table, pretends and throws, in a style he just started learning at the Caboolture Boxing Club.
Technically, too, Wilson won Navarrete and WBO gold medals this Saturday at Desert Diamond Arena in Arizona.
But dad?
“I hugged you like this,” Wilson said as he thumped two awkwardly placed fists in front of his face.
“It’s a style I’ve always wanted.
“And who knows? Maybe it worked.
“I know his theory was that no one could know exactly where the punch was coming from.”
These are the times, fighters now say, “I will never forget.”
The day will come well before illness breaks Peter Wilson.
That tough Kingaroy butcher, and later a panel beater, worked, lived, loved his children, until his liver tragically failed and pneumonia took hold, and finally his ashes fell under the Stanthorpe tree. They were scattered. .
That was around the time his boy, who was only 15 years old, made the appointment, and now he’s here.
As well as chatting with Fox Sports Australia .
Officially, Wilson is going up against Navarrete, two-division world champion and now reigning 3rd division, as an $8.50 TAB outsider.
Among the Las Vegas bookmakers, the Australian drifted up to 20/1 against the tough Mexican who hadn’t lost in ten years.
But we do know that Wilson’s fuel didn’t come from underdog hype, headlines, or the potential for piles of championship cash.
No, Wilson is here because he made a promise the same day the old man died.
In his final conversation with the man, who continues to prove the compass of this fighter in various ways, he promised that one day he would win the boxing world title.
“Because I know my father was Wild,” explains Wilson.
“But he loved his mother and he loved us children.
“He was never a man who had much. But what he had, he always gave us.
“Growing up, my father has always been my biggest supporter.
“everytime.
“That’s why I promised him that I would win a world title for him.”
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That’s something too, and since then the pair have talked almost daily for a decade.
“Most nights I lie in bed and talk to him,” Wilson reveals.
“It’s not just boxing.
“But life.
“Whenever I need help with anything, I go to my father.
“And our conversation is a great motivation.
“He gives me real strength and power in the same way he gives me confidence.
“I know he will be there when I finally step in the ring this weekend.”
Peter Wilson knows that too, because he took his boy on another 150 amateur expedition before that, as well as a dozen professional appearances ahead of Saturday’s world title challenge.
“Before every game, I always disappeared into the quiet of the locker room,” Wilson continues.
“Father, another big battle awaits, and we are one step closer to our final destination.
“I’ve told him over 100 times already.”
As he says again this weekend.
“I do, man, yeah,” he confirms.
“I’m going to sneak out as usual and ask my dad to help me with this fight.
“And when I go out, he’ll be with me.
“Same as usual.
“It’s been a long journey.
“But now we are here.”
yeah we are here
Watch Australia’s Liam Wilson battle Emmanuel Navarrete Live and Free Feb 4 against Kayo Freebies for the WBO super featherweight title. Join Now and Start Streaming Immediately >
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An old man who learned his lesson in every way possible, including not only the fighter and that signature punch called the “left hook from hell”, but also when the cops finally caught up to that XR Falcon.
“Because,” Wilson grinned.
Elsewhere, Wilson passionately—and for a very long time—shows how he loves his partner Courtney, how he loves his children Charlotte and Maverick, how he truly loves everyone close to him. is explained. Loved him in his own way.
“So every time I hug my kids, I think, ‘This must have been how Dad felt about us,'” says Fighter.
There is also a little bit of sadness involved in this.
“Because when I remember how much my father loved me, it’s like… oh yeah… I’m sorry,” Wilson says, frowning for the first time.
“I’m sad because that dad didn’t get to see my children and grandchildren.
“And why, given the chance, would you try to give them the same love that he did?”
In many ways, Liam Wilson is his father’s son.
“First and foremost, my grandfather taught me to be a loving father,” he says.
“But I also have anger inside me. The anger I know is passed on to him.
“My old man was from a large family. One of nine, four brothers.
“And they are all stubborn men.
“Each of them.
“So are my brothers.
“It’s in Wilson’s blood.
“We may not all be boxers, but we are all fighters.”
All of these are contained in Promises.
“I’ve been thinking here the whole time,” Wilson reveals the last words he said to the old man.
“Most nights I would lie in bed thinking, ‘Can I really do this?’
So what happens?
“I don’t know,” Wilson shrugged, and a smile spread across his face again.
“Of course, I will continue to box. I will continue to defend my belt like a true champion.
“But if I can win this weekend, if I can keep the promise I made to my father… I honestly feel like my story is over.”
