Former heavyweight boxing champion, Deontay Wilder, stunned fans globally after he revealed on Saturday he had traced his roots to Edo State.
In a viral video posted on Youtube, Wilder, who has never visited Nigeria, said he was ready to return home to learn more about his people.
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He said, “I want to go back and learn more about my culture and information with things about me.
“Once I’m done with what I’m doing, I’m going back to see my tribe Edo.
“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,” he added.
Wilder, who enjoyed a five-year reign as the WBC heavyweight champion between 2015 and 202, before losing his title to Tyson Fury in February, will follow in the footsteps of UCF welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who recently returned to Edo, having left the country when he was just eight years old.
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.
Current world champion, Anthony Joshua, has also visited Sagamu, Ogun State, where his father hails from.
Tyson Fury and Wilder are expected to meet on July 24 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Fury captured the WBC with a seventh-round TKO of Wilder in their second fight. A clause in his contract set up an automatic rematch with Wilder, who suffered the first loss of his 44-fight career at their previous fight in February 2020.
