Liam Wilson made a big name for himself last week, this when he slugged it out with, and almost stopped in an upset, Emanuel Navarrete in an early FOTY contender. Though Wilson and his team are still unhappy over the “long count” issue – with Navarrete going down in round four and then buying extra seconds after spitting out his mouth-piece, with an official protest being launched – a new challenge is being looked at, in the form of an all-Australian showdown with former lightweight champ George Kambosos Jr.
Kambosos, who lost back-to-back fights with Devin Haney, losing his 135 belts and then failing to regain them, is expected to make his ring return later on this year. Having reportedly turned down an offer to fight red-hot star in the making Shakur Stevenson, Kambosos may like the idea of a fight with Williams.
Certainly, this is the fight Williams, 11-2(7) wants, as his manager, Steve Scanlan, made clear when speaking with the Daily Telegraph.
“We absolutely want George Kambosos for the super fight,” Scanlan said. “I think Liam showed he deserves a crack at George this week, I will reach out to the Kambosos camp and we’ll begin discussions to put together a possible title bout. George is a spartan warrior and Liam loves to entertain when he fights. It’s a fight the Australian public deserves to see. If Liam wins, it would really propel him into the mainstream. But the ball will be in George’s court if he wants to get a deal done with us.”
This one would of course be a risky fight for both fighters, but both men have shown a willingness to take on the big challenges. Who wins this one if it does happen – the former champ or the wannabe champ who fought so valiantly in what as just his 13th pro fight? Kambosos, 20-2(10) has the edge in big-fight experience, but Wilson really did show in the Navarrete battle how good, and how dangerous, he really is.
Let’s hope Kambosos agrees to this fight and it gets done.