A Knockout Event

Tuscaloosa Public Library hosts boxing champ for free book signing

By Alison Marcotte | August 4, 2015

World Boxing Council world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder with Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Public Library patron Jaden Williams during Wilder’s book signing. (Photo: Vince Bellofatto)

As a part of its summer program, Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Public Library’s Weaver Bolden branch held a free talk and book signing with Deontay Wilder, a World Boxing Council world heavyweight champion and Tuscaloosa native, on June 25.

Wilder, also known as “the Bronze Bomber,” signed copies of the children’s book Deontay the Future World Champ, written by Tony Bowers and illustrated by Dan Monroe. The book, which is based on Wilder’s life, covers the importance of having a focused and healthy lifestyle to reach one’s goals.

Three hundred patrons attended the event, and 150 children received free, signed copies of Wilder’s book. A local boxing gym sold copies of the book for $20 each, which went toward the hospital bills of 9-year-old Titus Wilkerson, who was attacked by a pit bull in Tuscaloosa while walking home from school in April.

ALISON MARCOTTE is editorial intern at American Libraries.

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Richard Frieder (standing), community engagement director at Hartford Public Library, facilitates a community dialogue among neighborhood residents and Hartford police officers on the topic of community violence and public safety. The dialogue took place in June 2015 at Hartford Public Library's Barbour Street branch. (Photo: Judy Wyman Kelly)

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