22-year old Tuscaloosa, Alabama native Deontay Wilder was amateur boxing's Cinderella story this year, rising from obscurity to not only winning the National Golden Gloves and U.S. Championships, but also capturing a Bronze Medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the only boxing medal won by the United States.

Now Wilder will look for gold in the form of a professional boxing championship and he's teamed up with Oscar de la Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions to help him on his road to glory.

"I was inspired by Deontay's story and his raw talent is something special," said De La Hoya, a 1992 Olympic Gold Medallist and the President of Golden Boy Promotions. "He's six foot seven, athletic and getting better by the day. I see a bright future for him in the heavyweight division."

"Golden Boy Promotions creates champions and there's no team I'd rather be with to start my professional career," said Wilder. "This last year has been a whirlwind for me, but I'm even more excited knowing that now I'll have a chance to truly show what I can do in the ring as a pro. I can't wait to get started."

A stellar athlete in high school who had the opportunity to play college football and basketball, Wilder instead turned to boxing in 2005. With just 14 bouts under his belt, Wilder roared through the National Golden Gloves and U.S. Championships in 2007 and went on to win the Olympic trials with just 21 total amateur bouts.

His improbable run continued in this summer's Beijing Games, where he won two bouts before losing a semifinal decision to Italy's Clemente Russo. Making his achievement even more impressive is the fact that he did it all while raising his two-year old daughter, Naieya, who was born with spinal bifida. Now back home with a Bronze medal in his hand, Wilder gets ready for the next chapter of this amazing story.

Wilder will make his professional debut this Saturday, November 15 against Long Beach, CA's Ethan Cox, 2-2-1 (1), in a four round bout on the undercard of "All Or Nothing" - Jermain Taylor vs. Jeff Lacy on the campus ofVanderbilt University inNashville, Tennessee and televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:15 p.m. ET/ 7:15 p.m. PT.

For more information, please visit www.goldenboypromotions.com.

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