Why fans say Liam Wilson CHEATED after Aussie team’s protest over 27-second knockdown Navarrete

Boxing fans and pundits are accusing Aussie Liam Wilson of cheating after Saturday’s controversial WBO super featherweight title fight against Emanuel Navarrete in Phoenix.

The Queenslander’s team have launched a protest over their claims Wilson was ‘robbed’ when the Mexican favourite was allowed 27 seconds to recover from a trademark left hook that floored him in the fourth round.

The Queenslander’s team have claimed Wilson was ‘robbed’ after the Mexican favourite was allowed 27 seconds to recover from a trademark left hook that floored him in the fourth round

The rules of boxing state a fighter is only allowed 10 seconds to recover from being knocked down by their opponent. 

But now some fight fans are claiming the Mexican was hard done by, saying Wilson punched Navarrete while his glove was touching the canvas during the fourth-round knockdown – which is a foul.

‘For all the Twitter complaining about the mouthpiece/long count in rd 4, Wilson clearly hit Navarrete when he was down with his glove on the canvas in the same round & ref didn’t warn him or penalize him. Tit for tat,’ boxing journalist Dan Rafael tweeted.

‘1. If the ref took a point from Navarrete, washed the mouth piece, then resumed action, that’ve been worse. Navarrete would have had more time. 2. Navarrete had his hand on the canvas. Wilson hit a downed opponent, a foul. These penalties off set, imo,’ wrote another user.

‘Why is nobody talking about the punch Wilson landed after Navarrete glove touched the canvas. Should be DQ,’ wrote a third.

‘Okay so ref totally screwed up two different things,’ replied another fight fan, with others adding ‘should have had five minutes to recover from that shot’ and ‘Wilson hit him in the back of the head!’

Navarrete, unbeaten since 2012, roared back to win an 11th world title fight in a third division via a ninth-round stoppage.

Those extra 17 seconds after the knockdown were life-altering for the unheralded Wilson, whose victory on US debut would have been at least equal to the shock world title upsets by Jeff Horn five years ago and Jeff Harding nearly 30 years before that.

Navarrete (pictured), unbeaten since 2012 in 31 fights, roared back to win an 11th world title fight in a third division via a ninth-round stoppage

If followed a bizarre weigh-in drama on Thursday, Wilson about 2kg lighter than he had expected to be when the combatants stood on the scales.

Navarrete snuck just under the 59kg super featherweight limit, leading to accusations of cheating and scale tampering to ensure the Top Rank star made weight.

‘To me it was just a big piss take and looked well and truly planned to buy him some time,’ Wilson told journalists in Arizona on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) of the delay that saw referee Chris Flores stop the count, pick up Navarrete’s mouthguard and then re-insert it upside down.

‘I knew I was against it.

‘The scales debacle a day before, then the ref’s doing that.

A protest was immediately lodged by promoter No Limit after the controversial fight, one the Arizona Boxing Commission will review at their next meeting on February 15

‘For us to cause the upset, they would have hated that … it was easy for them to sabotage because they had power in other areas.’

A protest was immediately lodged by promoter No Limit, one the Arizona Boxing Commission will review at their next meeting on February 15.

A blockbuster defence against two-division champion and fellow Mexican star Oscar Valdez is already in the works.

But Wilson’s team want it declared a no-contest, which would strip Navarrete of the belt, wipe the loss off the Queenslander’s record and force the WBO into new plans.

‘I definitely want a re-match if it’s for the exact same position,’ Wilson said, confirming Navarrete hadn’t dismissed the idea of an Australian rematch ‘if the money was right’.

Wilson’s team want it declared a no-contest, which would strip Navarrete of the belt, wipe the loss off the Queenslander’s record and force the WBO into new plans

‘It has to be to win a world title; I wouldn’t do a re-match for nothing … (and) I would love to do it in Australia.’

Helping Wilson’s case is support from the wider boxing community, with respected US analysts backing what could otherwise be viewed as spurious claims.

American boxing promoter Lou DiBella believed the Aussie deserved a rematch for the long count.

‘Legit gripe. Awful. Order rematch,’ he wrote on twitter.

‘It was a piss take, but we hate talking like this,’ Wilson’s coach Ben Harrington said.

‘We’re real boxing people. Saying, ‘We’re robbed’ is not us and it’s not Navarrete’s fault either.

‘The last thing you want to do is cry foul, but it’s just so blatant that you can’t not.

‘Unfortunately it’s pretty common in boxing; judge corruption, long eight counts.’