Saturday night's Wilder-Manswell fight shaping up to be a good one

Sports fans in our area have a rare opportunity this week when it comes to professional boxing.

If you’ve ever wanted to attend a big-time, heavyweight boxing match, you’ve got your chance this Saturday when Deontay Wilder (pictured) takes on Kerston Manswell at the Mobile Civic Center Arena Expo Hall.

This fight is a big deal because it will mark the first time in 30 years that a televised pro boxing match will take place in the Port City. The heavyweight fight will be televised on FOX Sports Net, FOX Deportes and FUEL TV at 7 p.m.

The fight’s shaping up to be a good one. Wilder, 26, is a power-punching native of Tuscaloosa and won a bronze medal for the U.S. at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. As the least experienced boxer on that Olympic team, he ended up being the only American to win a medal when he captured the bronze in the men’s heavyweight competition.

Prior to his Olympic performance, he was best known for winning two major national titles in 2007. Nicknamed the “Bronze Bomber,” the 6-foot-7 Wilder enters Saturday’s fight with a 23-0 record, all by knockout. He usually tips the scales at around 220 pounds.

Manswell, 35, is a native of the Republic of Trinidad and Tabago in the Caribbean. Nicknamed the “Warrior,” Manswell enters the fight with a 22-5 record. Seventeen of his wins have come from knockouts. He’s 6-foot-4 and weighs 260 pounds.

If you’re interested in going, it’s not too late. Tickets start at $22 and are available through the Mobile Civic Center box office (251-208-7906) and Ticketmaster (800-745-3000). You can also buy them online through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.

The event is being sponsored by the Mobile Sports Authority, Corona and DeWalt Tools. It’s being presented by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment. Doors will open at 6 p.m. The Mobile Civic Center Arena is located at 401 Civic Center Dr. in Mobile.

The name Deontay Wilder may sound familiar to many of you prep football and basketball fans. Back in his high school days at Tuscaloosa Central High School, Wilder starred at wide receiver on the football team and at forward on the basketball team. He graduated from Central in 2004 and dreamed of playing sports right up the street at the University of Alabama.

Instead, he and his wife had a daughter born with spina bifida in 2005, so Wilder began attending Shelton State Community College in Tuscaloosa. That same year, he took up boxing for the first time. As they say, the rest is history.

Wilder fought as an amateur from 2006 until 2008, winning a National Golden Gloves Title, an Olympics Trials National Title and a USA Boxing National Title. He had very little experience as an amateur when he won his Olympic medal with only 30 fights under his belt. No other fighter with less experience – in the history of amateur boxing - has ever won an Olympic medal.

For more information about Wilder, visit his official website at www.deontaywilder.com.