Deontay Wilder defended his WBC heavyweight title with ease at the Barclays Center in New York on Saturday night.
The 33-year-old took just over two minutes to floor mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale.
It was a devastating right hand from Wilder which put his fellow American on the canvas. Breazeale attempted to get back to his feet before the end of the count but referee Harvey Dock called a halt.
Wilder is now 41-0-1 in his career with all but one of those wins coming via knockout. Last night was his ninth defence of the title he won four years ago with victory against Bermane Stiverne.
IT'S OVER. WILDER KNOCKS OUT BREAZEALE I ROUND 1 pic.twitter.com/bJOAxBP2Hw
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 19, 2019
Here's the slow motion replay of that explosive punch.
This angle of the Wilder knockout is insane pic.twitter.com/JZW4qlfDpB
— Morning Kombat (@morningkombat) May 19, 2019
Wilder had come in for criticism in the build-up to the fight for expressing a desire to harm an opponent in the ring.
"Everything just came out of me tonight," he said following last night's bout.
I know there was a lot of words and animosity against each other and it just came out tonight. This is what makes boxing so great when you can have so much inside and just overcome.
Breazeale thought the referee had stopped the fight a little early.
"He did his job and kept us safe for our next fight," said the 33-year-old.
"I got on my feet and had my legs under me. It's the heavyweight division so there's going to big shots from guys with power.
"This was a situation where [Wilder] landed the big right hand before I did. I thought I was going to come on in the later rounds. I'll be back and go for the heavyweight title again."
What. A. Punch. pic.twitter.com/A63eF4JPXF
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 19, 2019
