When Liam Wilson broke his left hand during his last fight against Matias Rueda in June, he expected to be on the sidelines for some time.
But he did not anticipate hearing that eight weeks after breaking his biggest weapon, it had not healed as expected.
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It led to Wilson having a bone graft taken out of his hip for his left hand, with a metal plate inserted into his hip.
For some time, it left the Queenslander as a couch potato.
“I couldn’t even walk, I couldn’t even run or maintain any sort of fitness,” Wilson told foxsports.com.au.
“I was basically stuck to the sidelines doing nothing.”
“I felt like I lost time.”
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They say there’s always a silver lining in a cloud, but this wasn’t just a cloud.
This was a thunderstorm.
But in the moments of frustration and disbelief of Wilson’s recovery veering off-script, there would be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel: a world title eliminator fight.
Wilson (11-1, 7 KO), who sits at No. 3 in the WBO junior lightweight division, will take on British star Archie Sharp (22-0, 9 KO) on the undercard of Tim Tszyu vs Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas on January 29.
It’s rather remarkable just how well the stars aligned for Wilson from sitting on his backside to now be locked in for a fight in Sin City, the location of several iconic moments in boxing history.
For someone who plunged to the deepest of emotional depths after his first professional loss, it’s a special moment for Wilson as he gears up for the moment of his life.
“For me, it was destiny,” Wilson said.
“I knew two years ago all of the things I had to overcome. All of those mind games, I was depressed, hungry, I wanted redemption and to overcome all of that.
“The ducks have lined up. It all comes to this moment, and I’m so thankful for the experiences I went through because I feel like it really has come to this moment.”
Against Sharp, Wilson is taking on the No. 1 in the WBO’s junior lightweight division who also holds the WBO global belt.
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Yet the Aussie won’t have one ounce of fear when he takes on the Brit.
“He’s a good fighter, but I think I have him covered in every other area: speed, power and most of all, my boxing ability,” Wilson said.
“I’ve put in the hard work now to ensure I give him minimal chance to win. I just feel like this is my destiny but as long as I put in the hard work, everything will unfold for me.
“If I don’t put in the hard work, it doesn’t happen for anybody.”
And by hard work, Wilson means countless rounds of purely shadow boxing while his hands waited to heal.
It must get boring after a while, right?
Perhaps, but there’s always a method to the madness.
“It (shadow boxing) should be a must-do in training, working on your technique,” Wilson said.
“It always is, but I’ve really overdone it now, in a good sense. I think it’s ultimately built my boxing IQ. I spent a few weeks just doing the same thing over and over.
“As much as it was boring, it was needed and if I want to win this fight, I had to do it.”
Now that his body is fully healed, Wilson can rip into his usual training methods.
It’s perfect timing given his date with destiny is just over two months away.
And he’s leaving no stone unturned in his preparation as Wilson, much like Tszyu, will conduct his entire training camp in the United States.
“I think it’s really coming together now, I’m on the home stretch,” Wilson said.
“Another thing I’m really looking forward to is getting into the boxing gym and really announcing myself, showing America who I am and that I’m on the rise.”
But, much like everything in the sport of boxing, a training camp in America is not without its great sacrifices.
Wilson will spend Christmas and New Years away from his wife and two children, Maverick and Charlotte.
Thankfully, the whole Wilson clan will be together again for the fight — “that’s a must” for the Queenslander — but he cannot afford any “distractions” in the build-up.
“I knew going to America is for a job,” Wilson said.
“My job and ultimately my goal is to become a world champion. This is all part of it. When I fight, they’ll be there with me.
“But whilst I’m training and working on my craft, I need to be independent and hard at work.
“I feel like for this big fight, I need to be independent and solely focused on my craft.
“No distractions.”
