(Photo: Facebook)
April 10, 2018
Former Kingaroy junior boxer Liam Wilson’s dreams of winning Commonwealth Games gold evaporated on Tuesday afternoon with a 5-0 defeat by English boxer Luke McCormack in a quarter-final bout.
Wilson, 22, easily won his first fight at the games, defeating PNG boxer John Ume 5-0 in the Men’s 64kg bout at Oxenford on Sunday.
The light welterweight had been tipped as a gold medal possibility for Australia; unfortunately, his quarter-final opponent was also a red-hot favourite after winning a silver medal in the 2017 European championships and dispatching top-flight Northern Irish boxer Sean McComb in the first round at the Gold Coast.
Wilson and McCormack had last fought each other when they were 15, and McCormack was triumphant on that occasion as well.
Going into the Games, Wilson was a five-times Australian champion, nine-times Queensland champion and six-times Australian Golden Glove winner with 122 wins from 135 fights.
Only a broken hand in the lead-up prevented him from competing at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
He first started fighting as youngster aged just 10 under the guidance of Len Hams at Kingaroy Boxing Club.
There’s no doubt that Wilson had a tough start to life in Kingaroy.
He has spoken in the media about his father, who was a heavy drinker and had frequent run-ins with police.
But he was also Liam’s biggest supporter when it came to boxing.
Wilson had 13 fights under Hams before moving to Caboolture where trainer Don Tindall took him under his wing.
His father died of alcohol-related health problems when Wilson was just 16 but he lived long enough to see his son compete in major boxing tournaments.
Wilson still dedicates all his bouts to his late father.
- External link: Meet Liam Wilson … Boxing’s Next Superstar
