New World Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder Honored
Tuscaloosa & Alabama Fans Pay Tribute at Hometown Parade
Parade Celebrating First American to Win Heavyweight Championship in More than Eight Years
TUSCALOOSA, Ala., Jan. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, Jan. 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the Tuscaloosa-based, undefeated boxer Deontay "Bronze Bomber" Wilder captured the prestigious title of world heavyweight champion. Wilder is the first American to win a World Heavy Weight Title in eight years, and did it in dramatic fashion extending his undefeated professional record to 33-0.
To celebrate the American Champion's victory, Mayor Walter Maddox hosted a parade in Wilder's honor on Saturday, Jan. 24 through downtown Tuscaloosa. The city and state came out to celebrate their champion in droves. This is the first time a heavyweight champion has hailed from Tuscaloosa.
The weekend was capped off with a stirring halftime tribute to Deontay during this weekend's Auburn versus Alabama men's basketball game, as the champion received a standing ovation from the hometown crowd.
In his heavyweight title match, Wilder completely dominated his Canadian opponent with agility and fierce counterpunching, going 12 rounds for the first time in his professional career to beat Stiverne by unanimous decision. While it did not end in a knockout as his previous 32 fights did, CompuBox Statistics had Wilder landing 227 of 621 punches (37 percent) to Stiverne's 110 of 327 (34 percent). The Tuscaloosa native is the first American to win the title since Shannon Briggs defeated Siarhei Liakhovich in 2006. This victory raised Wilder's record to an impressive 33-0 with 32 knockouts.
Wilder is no stranger to high-profile victories. At 6 feet 7 inches, his imposing presence intimidates opponents both outside and inside the ring. During his amateur years, Wilder won the National Golden Gloves Title, the USA Boxing National Title and the Olympic Trials National Title. He is also the 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist and the last American male boxer to win a medal in the Olympics. Wilder won his medal at the 2008 Beijing Games after only 30 amateur bouts, which had never been done in the US in the history of amateur boxing. At the age of 19, Wilder became a professional boxer to help care for his daughter, who was diagnosed with spina bifida. The All-American hero is celebrating and enjoying his well-earned status as one of the top ranked heavyweight champions in the world.
Wilder currently resides in his hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama and is trained by Jay Deas at Skyy Gym in neighboring Northport. For more information on Wilder, please visit: twitter.com/bronzebomber and facebook.com/pages/Deontay-Wilder
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150127/171730
SOURCE Haymon Boxing
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