Deontay Wilder is what boxing in this country needs. When Wilder beat World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne Saturday night, he became the first American heavyweight champion since Shannon Briggs in 2006. He made boxing seem relevant again. In a division that had been long been dominated by the likes of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson, Wilder has a chance to be an American star.

Wilder is everything this country wants in a boxer. He is charismatic, undefeated and has a story that touches everybody’s heart. The Tuscaloosa native dreamed of playing football for the Crimson Tide, but in 2005, just a year after graduating from Tuscaloosa’s Central High School, his daughter Naieya was born. The birth of Naieya, who suffers from spina bifida, forced Wilder to skip out on his dream of playing college football and led him to focus on a boxing career instead. After winning the bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wilder turned pro and has slowly compiled a record of 33-0, with his win against Stiverne being the only time he did not win a fight by knockout.

Wilder has done it all while training in Tuscaloosa, which is part of what makes him so likable. While many other boxers outgrow their hometown and move on to bigger and better gyms in bigger cities, Wilder has made a point to stay in Tuscaloosa. He never signed on with the big promoters or the big trainers. He has stayed with the people who have been there for him when he wasn’t the heavyweight champion of the world. In almost every interview Wilder is involved in, he mentions the city of Tuscaloosa or the state of Alabama.

Wilder still has things to prove as a boxer, but he has all the potential in the world. It is expected he will likely have a couple more fights and if he wins those, he will at some point get the chance to face the world’s best heavyweight, Wladimir Klitschko. If that time comes, it won’t really matter if Wilder wins or loses, because he has already made this city proud and added another title to the “City of Champions.”