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By Jake Donovan - Some fighters claim ‘People’s Champion’ status just because it’s the thing to say. Deontay Wilder has always been a man of the people. Now that he’s a champion these days, he too gets to claim the aforementioned title. Only in his case, he truly means it.
It’s why, barely three weeks after manhandling Bermane Stiverne to claim a heavyweight belt in Vegas, Wilder was found taking in a night of action at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Missisippi. His presence wasn’t at all a publicity stunt, although ESPN2 – which aired the show as part of its Friday Night Fights series – used the opportunity for an on-air interview.
Wilder (33-0, 32KOs) was on hand for nearly the entire marathon 12-fight card, sticking around through the end of the show and then well after that, posing for pictures with fans, granting all interview requests, and – other than his standing a massive 6’7” – never once coming across a man with the sense he was above his crowd.
“I like to be among the people. I get a love from the south and I love them as well,” Wilder said of his time in the ******** capital of the Deep South, which is roughly a four-hour trek from his hometown in college football-crazed Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Taking in the card was just the latest public setting in which the unbeaten heavyweight titlist was found. A parade was recently held in Tuscaloosa in his honor, celebrating his recent win over Stiverne, and giving him the key to the city.
Outside of his bringing a heavyweight crown to Alabama—or anywhere in the South, for that matter—Wilder took the event as a chance to reconnect with his hometown fans, and merely as the first of plenty more to come. [Click Here To Read More]
It’s why, barely three weeks after manhandling Bermane Stiverne to claim a heavyweight belt in Vegas, Wilder was found taking in a night of action at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Missisippi. His presence wasn’t at all a publicity stunt, although ESPN2 – which aired the show as part of its Friday Night Fights series – used the opportunity for an on-air interview.
Wilder (33-0, 32KOs) was on hand for nearly the entire marathon 12-fight card, sticking around through the end of the show and then well after that, posing for pictures with fans, granting all interview requests, and – other than his standing a massive 6’7” – never once coming across a man with the sense he was above his crowd.
“I like to be among the people. I get a love from the south and I love them as well,” Wilder said of his time in the ******** capital of the Deep South, which is roughly a four-hour trek from his hometown in college football-crazed Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Taking in the card was just the latest public setting in which the unbeaten heavyweight titlist was found. A parade was recently held in Tuscaloosa in his honor, celebrating his recent win over Stiverne, and giving him the key to the city.
Outside of his bringing a heavyweight crown to Alabama—or anywhere in the South, for that matter—Wilder took the event as a chance to reconnect with his hometown fans, and merely as the first of plenty more to come. [Click Here To Read More]
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