5 Things You Didn’t Know about Deontay Wilder

So I'm no Deontay Wilder fan, mainly because of his crass behavior. That said I do like to read about boxer stories and I did find these to be some admirable traits. Thought I'd share a few things about his story that stuck out for me.

@latineg you will like these.

https://www.tvovermind.com/deontay-wilder/

1. He Worked Four Jobs While He Was An Amateur Boxer
After he left school he had four jobs that he worked to earn money to better care for his daughter. He began to gain an interest in boxing and began competing in amateur fights. He carried on working at all his jobs and found ways to incorporate his training into his routine. He was a delivery driver for Budweiser and he used to carry the packs of beer around as part of his weight training.

2. He Is An Olympic Medal Winner
He was selected to take part in the Olympics in 2008. At this point he had only been boxing seriously for three years. He won a bronze medal at the tournament in the heavyweight division after losing to Clemente Russo in the semi-final. His rise to gaining a place at the Olympics was seen as something quite meteoric and he earned his place in the finals after just 21 bouts. Beijing was the only Games he competed in, preferring to concentrate on gaining and then maintaining the title of Heavyweight Champion.

3. He Was The First American Heavyweight Champion For Nine Years
When he became Heavyweight Champion he was the first American to hold the title for nine years. This is the longest period in history that there has been without an American champion. The last American to hold the title before him was Hasim Rahman. At this time Wilder was only just starting out in his career.

4. He Turned His Local High School Into A Gym After It Closed
According to Boxing News Wilder turned Coffeyville High School into a gym for young people after it was closed by the local authority. He is the sole supporter of this gym financially. He has also taught boxing there on occasions but there are a lot of other activities available as well. He reasons for opening the gym was to give local children something to do so they can stay away from causing trouble on the streets.

5. He Has Written A Children’s Book
He has written a book for children telling the story of how he became Heavyweight Champion. While there are some details about boxing in the book, the main message of the book is to stand up to adversity and not to let anything stand in the way of achieving your dreams. He wants children to believe that there is nothing that they can’t do and this book goes some way towards reinforcing this message. He has also been quoted as saying that he would like the chance to write more books for children in the future.