Fury stuns Wilder to claim heavyweight title

British boxer Tyson Fury ended Deontay Wilder's five-year reign as World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight world champion with a stunning performance in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Fury, known as the Gypsy King, dominated his American opponent throughout the match, flooring Wilder in the third and fifth rounds of a thrilling fight.

The match ended midway through the seventh round as Wilder's corner threw in the towel to end the former champion's ordeal.

Saturday's encounter was a rematch of Fury and Wilder's epic 2018 showdown that ended in a split draw after 12 rounds.

This was Wilder's 11th time defending the WBC crown and Fury, 31, handed him his first career defeat after 44 fights.

Speaking after the fight, the new WBC heavyweight champion lauded Wilder as a "warrior."

"A big shout out to Deontay Wilder. He came here tonight and he manned up and he really did show the heart of a champion … He is a warrior. He will be back. He will be champion again," said Fury, who now has 30 career wins with 21 knockouts.

"But I will say, the king has returned to the top of the throne!"

Wilder acknowledged that the best man won but vowed to make a stronger comeback.

"Things like this happen. The best man won tonight … Even the greatest have lost and came back … we'll come back stronger next time around," he said.