Liam Wilson’s dream of becoming a world champion remains just that after his first attempt.

The Australian at one stage threatened to pull off one of the greatest upsets in boxing history before a ninth-round technical knockout loss to Emanuel Navarrete. Instead, the Mexican became a world title holder in three weight divisions after climbing off the canvas in round four to defeat Wilson and take the vacant WBO super-featherweight belt.

In his first fight outside Australia, Wilson stunned fans at the Desert Diamond Arena in Phoenix when he floored the veteran with a trademark blow that has been dubbed “the left hook from hell”.

Navarrete required all his experience to buy time – he spent an age reinserting his mouthguard – to recover and was saved by the bell. Wilson rocked him again with a right-hand bomb at the end of the sixth, but the champion remained upright and found his range in the later rounds.

“I knocked him down in the fourth and thought the count was a bit longer than I thought [it should have been],” Wilson said in the ring after the loss.

“I think it was about a 20-second count. Review it and see what happens there. I’ll be back, make no mistake about it. I love these hard fights.”

Wilson, a despised 15-1 outsider who only took the fight at late notice due to an injury to Oscar Valdez, lost no fans during a courageous performance that proved he is world class.

Few athletes have overcome as many hurdles in pursuit of their dreams. Wilson lost his father, Peter, at the age 16; there were bouts of doubt and depression after his only loss, which he subsequently avenged, to Joe Noynay; and he broke his hand in his last fight, against Matias Rueda. Even getting to Phoenix was a hassle, having spent nine days in London in the middle of his training camp in order to obtain a visa.