"Make sure to come by and see it" - Tuscaloosa's official Twitter urges people to visit Deontay Wilder's statue
Deontay Wilder was recently immortalized in bronze with a life-sized statue located in his home town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The city is urging people to come and visit the artistic masterpiece.
See the tweet here:
Make sure to come by and see it for yourself!
The emotional moment when Deontay Wilder revealed the statue of himself created by Caleb O'Connor.
The statue will be permanently located outside of @VisitTuscaloosa, representing the @BronzeBomber in Tuscaloosa for perpetuity. 👊💯 Make sure to come by and see it for yourself! https://t.co/YkfMD0C7pi
Deontay WIlder, 'The Bronze Bomber', got his nickname from his time at the Olympics. In 2008, he won an Olympic Bronze Medal. In tribute to 'The Brown Bomber', American Heavyweight legend Joe Louis, Wilder adopted the moniker.
The statue has been placed outside of Tuscaloosa's tourism building. The city of Tuscaloosa does not receive a lot of tourism. It is mainly a college town, most famous for being the location of the main University of Alabama campus.
Nevertheless, the city is hoping that the magnificent statue of the former Heavyweight Champion of the World will lead visitors to Tuscaloosa. The statue itself has a storied history.
Tuscaloosan artist Caleb O'Connor completed the clay statue of local hero Wilder over five years ago. The statue would then go to Italy for bronzing before it was ready to be unveiled.
Deontay Wilder, however, did not want it to be on display until he unified the heavyweight titles. At the time, there were two major names in the heavyweight division, Wilder and Anthony Joshua. The two combined held all the belts, and a unification between the two was not out of the equation.
The statue would then remain in storage until Wilder made the call. Now, as he makes a return to boxing, 'The Bronze Bomber' feels the time is right.
Deontay Wilder had a storied career
Deontay Wilder (42-2-1) has knocked out every opponent he has faced as a professional bar one. That one opponent is Tyson Fury, whom Wilder had a trilogy with. Wilder has knocked down Fury on multiple occasions but ‘The Gypsy King’ has always gotten up.
Watch Tyson Fury miraculously get up off the canvas during the final round of Fury-Wilder I:
The pair on three occasions managed to produce entertaining action fights. The first fight was a draw, and the next two both ended with Tyson Fury stopping Wilder. In all three fights, Wilder had moments of his own. The series is amongst the greatest of all time.
Shortly after the statue was unveiled, Wilder announced that he would be making a return to boxing. Wilder, due to his tremendous punching power, will always be one of the most exciting fighters to watch.