Former heavyweight boxing champion, Deontay Wilder has revealed that he is from Edo State, Southern Nigeria.
Gatekeepers News reports that Wilder on Saturday stunned his fans globally in a viral video that he had traced his roots to Edo State.
Wilder who enjoyed a five-year reign as the WBC heavyweight champion between 2015 and 2020 has never visited Nigeria but hinted that he is ready to return home.
In his words: “I want to go back and learn more about my culture and information with things about me.
“I want to see my culture and my ancestors and learn a lot of things. We all have lots of things that we are connected to that we know nothing about. I’ll love to go there and do research about my roots and my tribe.”
Gatekeepers News reports that Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman had recently returned to Edo, having left the country when he was just eight years old.
Also, two-time unified world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua had also visited Sagamu, Ogun State, where his father hails from.
Nigeria has produced top boxers like Samuel Peter, Dick Tiger and Hogan Bassey; the trio undisputed former world champions, Peter at heavyweight, Tiger at middle and light heavyweight, and Bassey at featherweight.
