Liam Wilson made his 135-pound debut vs. Youssef Dib, and George Kambosos in his wrestling debut.

Liam Wilson cut a ripped figure when interviewed by ESPN's Mark Kriegel in the ring at the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix, Arizona in March.

The 28-year-old Australian was trying to explain why he quit boxing and chose to fight Oscar Valdez of Mexico who was a junior lightweight contender.

“I tried to punch the first couple of rounds and my heart got the better of me,” said Wilson, who was stopped on his feet seconds into the seventh round by referee Mark Nelson after suffering multiple injuries in the last minute. of stanza not throw back.

“I have to learn from it and start using my boxing mind.”

That recklessness and willingness to trade, even against his better judgment, is what makes Wilson see TV. But it doesn't make for a long career.

“It works sometimes, but sometimes I need to fight the battle in front of me,” he said.

It is not the first time that his eagerness to please his fans and do work in style has come back to haunt him.

A year before he faced Valdez, Wilson challenged Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant WBO super featherweight title at the same venue. Wilson floored Navarrete in the fourth round, and the heavyweight Mexican was given extra time to recover after spitting in his mouth. It was a veteran move that bought him precious time to recover.

Navarrete went back to his corner, recovered for the next few rounds, and then began to apply pressure. Wilson went with him, threw a punch, but ended up at second where he was knocked down and stopped in the ninth.

Now for the second time in a year Wilson has had to rebuild, but this time he seems to have accepted the inevitable. He needs to change his ways if he wants a long career in the sport.

“I had to take some time to recover and recover and process my emotions, and then it was back to the drawing board for the last 10 weeks,” Wilson (13-3, 7 knockouts) said on The Ring.

“I still have a lot to do and after three losses, I really have to get my finger out.”

Overcoming the mental tendency to switch bombs is easier said than done for a man who clearly enjoys being in the trenches.

“That's exactly what I've been doing because it will give me many years in my career, I will have many years doing this,” said Wilson who speaks softly without strings as he has violence inside them.

“Having my style, making it a constant battle, will make it difficult for me. Throughout this training camp, that's what I've been focusing on. Boxing is my fight.”

The Caboolture product will see how well those lessons have sunk in when he takes on Sydney's Youssef Dib (21-1, 11 KOs) over 10 rounds at lightweight at the WIN Entertainment Center in Wollongong, New South Wales on Wednesday the 10th July.

The fight will heavily support Sam Goodman (18-0, 8 KOs), ranked No. 4 by The Ring at junior featherweight, who risks a shot at undisputed 122-pound champion Naoya Inoue (27-0, 24). KOs) against rugged Thai Chainoi Worawut (25-0-1, 15 KOs) in a 12-round fight.

For Wilson, who boxed high welterweight as an amateur, it's an opportunity to see how his body adapts to the 135-pound weight class.

“I feel very happy to start in a new weight class,” he said. “Finally, I felt a lot more energy in my training camp. I feel refreshed, I feel renewed. Doing (junior lightweight) was really hard, so it's new for me. I'm looking forward to fight night, boxing in this new division.

“It's going to be fun. I will have to wait until the night of the fight to see how I do at this weight, being in the ring with another lightweight opponent, the training camp was unreal. I feel bigger, I feel stronger, I'm in better shape because of this weight. I feel new, basically. I feel beautiful.

“We'll see how things go tonight and see what we do as a team, whether we'll stay here by going back to (junior lightweight).”

“I played well at super featherweight, I also won well, but I also think that the weight reduction would have taken me out a bit too.

“Me, I'm interested to see how I fare at this weight and see how it goes on fight night. I think the energy will be there, it's been there throughout this sparring camp. I enjoyed this new challenge. It inspired me and re-energized my boxing career.”

Dib, 31, had a good run last year, defeating Kye MacKenzie and Miles Zalewski before running into Ibrahim Balla in December, losing a 10-round decision to the 2012 London Olympian before returning to action. win column against Nort Beauchamp in March.

“I just fought my fight, mate,” Wilson said of his opponent. “I think about the few defeats I got at super featherweight and all the mistakes I made in the past, I hope to correct them and fight tonight. Yousef Dib will be my first opponent to go on trial with him.

“He is a hard worker. He's been around a long time and he's in good hands in his corner, so I expect him to bring his A-game.”

Wilson also sees the Dib fight as an opportunity to qualify former Ring lightweight champion and IBF/WBA/WBO title holder George Kambosos Jr (21-3, 10 KOs) in what could be a major impact for the Aussie champion.

“It makes me happy. I know he's a good boxer, he's got game. I'm also a good boxer,” explained Wilson. “He's lost a few now, like me, so the fight makes perfect sense, in Australia at least. I don't know if the rest of the world wants to see it or not, but Australia wants to see it.

“And that's why it makes perfect sense. We are two Aussies and as a country, we lack that great domestic rivalry. You're a dance partner this time, but it takes two to tango.

“He has done more than I have done in his career. I fought for two world titles, he won one. I won't say that he was the one who shot, but I want a fight and now I'm waiting for him.”

“We haven't had so many Aussie tournaments and I think this works well for both of us.”