Liam Wilson (13-3, 7 KOs) partially blames his seventh-round TKO defeat on Friday night against Oscar Valdez (32-2, 24 KOs) on choosing to brawl with him rather than using his size to keep the fight at range in their clash for the WBO interim super featherweight title at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Valdez hurt Wilson with a big shot in round seven and then followed up with a barrage of punches, prompting referee Mark Nelson to step in and waive it off at 2:48 of the round.
The 28-year-old Wilson’s loss was his second in his last four fights, and it puts him in a bad position to try to come back from this. He’d already been knocked out by Emanuel Navarrete in the ninth round last year, but he was able to get a quick title shot after beating a couple of sub-level opponents.
Post-Fight Reflection
“It’s not the result I was looking for but I’m proud to be in a hard fight, being in the wars, and competing with a Mexican champion,” said Liam Wilson to Jai McAllister, reflecting on his loss to Oscar Valdez on Friday night.
“He’s a two-time world champion. I’m proud to share the ring with him. I was on a good roll, got caught with too many punches, and the results ended the way that they did. It was very unfortunate. Absolutely, yeah,” said Wilson when asked if he thought he was in the fight.
“I got off to a good start, and the result went the way it did. It’s a real shame. I imagined when I was young being in these kind of fights, and they’re finally here. I didn’t get my hand raised, and it didn’t go the way I wanted it to.
“It was good. It was lovely in there, and the crowd was roaring. It really lifted my energy, and I was proud to be in there. Yeah, I agree,” said Wilson when told that the commentators felt that he hadn’t fought smart.
“The first two rounds, I was using my distance, but my heart took over,” said Wilson.
