Australian boxer Liam Wilson has been ordered to leave his US fight camp and travel 12,000km this week – while also finding a gym in the UK – as part of incredible preparations for his WBO world title fight.
Already ranked among the nation’s most exciting fight prospects, Wilson is currently preparing for his hyped WBO super featherweight showdown against Mexican star Emanuel Navarrete in Arizona on February 4.
Only three weeks out from the biggest fight of his life however, Fox Sports Australia can reveal the Queenslander is still without the relevant visa – and can only get said paperwork sorted in either Australia, Columbia or England.
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The situation continues a chaotic couple of months for the 26-year-old Aussie, who was only catapulted into the title bout after Oscar Valdez withdrew with injury.
Rather than waiting Down Under for the relevant paperwork however, Wilson instead flew straight to Washington DC and the Headbangers Gym operated by famed US coach Barry Hunter.
With good reason, too.
Speaking from the US capital overnight, Wilson described the issue as no more than a “small chink” in his preparations, which have seen him training and sparring at a higher level than ever before in his career while Stateside.
The fighter confirmed that he and head coach Ben Harrington will depart for three, maybe four days in the UK from today (Thursday), which is far better than what he initially thought would be a trip back to Sydney.
Apart from the elite sparring he is receiving at Headbangers, Wilson and his team have also been working closely with coach Hunter – whose list of clients include Gervonta Davis, Lamont Peterson, Adrien Broner, Shakur Stevenson and Errol Spence.
Importantly, Hunter also works with top British fighter Isaac Dogboe – who has twice fought Navarrete in the past.
While both fights were loses, Dogboe went the distance on both occasions.
All of which has Wilson convinced this slight inconvenience of the next three days will be worth the pain come fight night.
“It really is just a small chink,” the Aussie said of his whirlwind London trip.
“The flight is only six hours each way, and I’ll be there for just a few days.
“Initially we already had in mind that we might have to fly back to Australia or even go to Columbia. So London isn’t too bad.
“And I’ll find somewhere to train over there. Get some work in.
“But we’ll sort all that out when we land.
“There’s no shortage of gyms in London.”
Head coach Harrington was equally relaxed about the trip.
“In an ideal world, this would have all been taken care of before we arrived in the US,” he said.
“But this world title opportunity, it got sprung on us quickly.
“And we wanted to get over here immediately and go to work.
“So now we just have to shoot across to London for a couple of days.
“We’ll do some work there before heading back to finish off the preparation. It all means we’ll have the best version of Liam Wilson ready for fight night.”
Asked about his preparation at Headbangers, Wilson continued: “The sparring has been great.
“Every day there are new guys in here.
“Fighters that the gym hasn’t even seen before. They come in from everywhere.
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“So it’s tough sparring every day.
“And that suits my style.
“Every spar, I treat it like a fight. Go hard.
“And over here I’ve been fighting everyone.
“Big guys, southpaws, rangy fighters …
“My work is intense and I feel like they’re trying to match that. So it’s been great for me.”
