An emotional Liam Wilson is refusing to contemplate defeat after becoming the latest Australian boxer to gain a shot at world title glory.
Wilson will take on Mexican ironman Emanuel Navarrete in Arizona on February 3 for the vacant WBO junior lightweight belt after formally being awarded the fight he's dreamt of for more than a decade.
The 26-year-old was only 15 when his father Peter succumbed to a failing liver.
The devastated teenager promised his greatest fan on his deathbed that he'd win a world title one day.
"So when I first got the call about this fight, the first thing that I wanted to do was tell dad," Wilson told AAP on Wednesday.
"I thought 'how do I tell ya?' And I couldn't do it. That left me in limbo for a few days. And then I had to really accept it.
"But there've been heaps of nights where I've just laid in bed and prayed to dad and just talked to him and let him know that I've got this big fight coming up.
"So there was more emotion than excitement when I found out. I was excited, obviously, but it was a promise I made him before he passed away and I just want to make it come true."
It's been a meteoric rise, to say the least, for Wilson (11-1, 7KOs) with the Queenslander on the cusp of a world title in only his 13th professional bout.
Arguably Australia's biggest pound-for-pound puncher, Wilson's only loss came last year against world No.7 Joe Noynay.
But a second-round stoppage of Noynay in their rematch, despite being warned against fighting the Filipino again after his opponent weighed in 4kg above the limit, and an equally impressive victory over Matias Rueda (37-1, 32 KOs) put Wilson back on track.
"Obviously taking the harder fights and the things I've done throughout my career to get here has led to this and I'm not surprised by it," Wilson said.
"This is where I've wanted to get to since I was a little kid and now I'm here."
Wilson had been slated to fight British No.1 WBO contender Archie Sharp in a world title eliminator on the Tim Tszyu-Jermell Charlo undercard in Las Vegas on January 28.
But with Oscar Valdez vacating the division, Wilson has been promoted to a date with destiny against Navarrete.
"Two of my idols are Mexican warriors - Erik Maroles and (Rafael) Marquez - so to fight a Mexican warrior like Navarrete, I'm really excited," he said.
"It's going to be a hard fight but I back myself 100 per cent to win this fight.
"He's moving up in weight and I definitely think I'll be the biggest punch that he's ever faced and he's going to feel that.
"I don't think he'll be able to bully and dictate the way he usually does and I'm just going to be the bigger fighter for once in his career."
