TUSCALOOSA | Hundreds of residents filled downtown Tuscaloosa today to welcome home a hero.
Tuscaloosa News Staff | Michael E. Palmer
Olympic boxer Deontay Wilder rides in the Labor Day Parade Monday September 1, 2008 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Michael E. Palmer/Tuscaloosa News)
Olympic bronze medalist and Central High School graduate Deontay Wilder was the grand marshal for the annual Labor Day Parade, hosted by the West Alabama Labor Council, and later the recipient of a key to the city, given by Mayor Walt Maddox.
For the elected officials, dignitaries and residents who turned out as the outer bands of Hurricane Gustav swept over West Alabama, it was their way to thank Wilder for representing Tuscaloosa, the state and the nation with class and dignity in Beijing, China.
“We just wanted to support him because he’s such a great role model for everyone in Tuscaloosa,” said Northport resident Rhonda Dunn, who attended the parade with her husband, Marlon, and 14-year-old son, Heath.
Dunn said Heath attends Skyy Boxing, the Northport-based gym where Wilder began a journey that, in less than three years, took him to the Olympic games and the only U.S. boxer to win a medal in the Games of the XXIX Olympiad.
“It is indeed an honor for me today to honor a true champion,” Maddox said from a podium at Capitol Park following the parade, “a young man who stepped into a boxing ring and catapulted himself, through hard work and dedication, to be one of the best boxers in the world.”
As he accepted the tokens and accolades, Wilder thanked the people of Tuscaloosa for helping him achieve more than he ever expected in so short a time.
“I can’t express enough how blessed I am," he said. "A lot of people said I inspired them, but you have no idea how much you inspired me."
