Tuscaloosa native Deontay Wilder returned to the boxing ring and scored one of his signature knockouts in quick order. It was another story for the Alabama Crimson Tide, which fell to Tennessee due to a last second kick during regulation. The “Bronze Bomber” knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round. This puts Wilder back in win column after consecutive losses to Tyson Fury which ended his five year reign as the WBC World Heavyweight Champion. The boxer still retains his ninety three percent knockout rate, which is considered the highest in the history of the sport.
During Alabama’s game against the Tennessee Vols in Knoxville, Chase McGrath made a forty yard field goal as time expired to give number six ranked Tennessee a 52-49 victory over the Crimson Tide. As soon as the kick knuckle-balled through the uprights, some of the more than one hundred thousand fans stormed the field to celebrate the Volunteers ending a fifteen game losing streak to the Crimson Tide. It didn't take long for the goal posts to go down.
During Deontay Wilder’s successful return to boxing against Robert Helenius, the Bronze Bomber moved cautiously for most of the round before unleashing his right hand that has long been considered the best in the business. Alabama Public Radio also conducted Wilder’s first interview on this connection to the Old Prewitt Slave Cemetery. His comments are included in part of APR’s series “No Stone Unturned: Preserving Slave Cemeteries in Alabama. Click below for the first two installments of this investigation.
