King has returned to the top, says Tyson Fury after stopping Deontay Wilder

Fourteen months on from his controversial draw with Wilder - when he outboxed the champion only for two knockdowns to deny him the famous green belt - Fury had vowed to take the fight to the American.

He did just that, flooring the champion twice and dominating the action before Wilder’s corner threw the towel in to save the despairing, bewildered champion from more punishment.

A right hand which landed near Wilder’s left ear saw the champion go down heavily in the third and in the fifth and a right to the head and left hook to the body had a tired Wilder down again.

He was up quickly but tired as Fury looked to bring about a conclusive finish. Wilder was in a sorry state by the start of the seventh.

Another left hook had him hurt and all he could offer was his trademark, lazy, looping right hand. Fury pinned him in the corner and the towel came in to anoint a new world heavyweight champion.

After the fight, Fury paid tribute to his opponent.

“Big shoutout to Deontay Wilder, he came here tonight, he manned up and really did show the heart of a champion,” said Fury in the ring.

“I hit him with a clean right hand and dropped him and he got back up and battled on into round seven. He is a warrior, he will be back, he will be a champion again.

“But I will say, the king has returned to the top.”

Wilder said after suffering the first defeat of his professional career: “I make no excuses tonight, I got a lot of complications.

“I will come back and be stronger the next time around. This is what big time boxing is all about, the best must fight the best. I appreciate all the fans that came out tonight and supported the show.”