Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury 2: Gypsy King stops Wilder in seventh round of WBC heavyweight title rematch in Las Vegas

• Tyson Fury to face Anthony Joshua next?
• Fury hailed as an all-time great

Fourteen months on from their highly-controversial draw in Los Angeles, the Gypsy King (30-0-1, 21 KOs) maintained his unbeaten record in front of a huge army of British boxing fans at the MGM Grand by inflicting Wilder's first career defeat in brutal fashion.

Fury sent Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) to the canvas in the third and fifth rounds while he continued the onslaught until the Bronze Bomber's corner had little option but to throw in the towel, sparking wild scenes of celebration and a rendition of American Pie from his opponent.

The Manchester fighter captures one version of the world titles, having vacated the other four after beating Wladimir Klitschko due to his highly-publicised break from the sport, while he also picks up the vacant Ring Magazine belt and retains his status as lineal champion he's kept since that unforgettable night in Dusseldorf in November 2015.

Britain dominates the division with Anthony Joshua holding the WBA, IBF, WBO & IBO straps and while a third instalment of Fury and Wilder will be touted, there can be no doubt as to which bout the boxing world will crave.

After the fight, Fury said: "Thank you to my lord and saviour Jesus Christ. I told everyone the Gypsy King has returned to his throne.

"Last fight I was under weight and over trained. This time, how about pillow fists eh? I told Deontay I am going for a knock out. Everyone said 'oh stick to your boxing'. I was knocking a 250 bag off his hooks every day, not padding around.

"Deontay is a hell of performer, dynamite in his fists and he will always be dangerous. People look at my fat belly and my bald head and they think I cannot fight.

"I had my mental problems and issues and I was out of the ring three years. But he was fighting the real Gypsy King this time. I expect he will want a rematch and I will have that. Great fights should have trilogies. And I want it here, just across the road, at the Raiders Stadium outdoors in front of 70,000".

Wilder, who weighted in heavier than ever before at 16st 7lbs despite being three stone lighter than his opponent, headed into his 12th WBC title defence as a very marginal favourite and it was felt Fury's best hope of victory would be via the judges scorecards due to his widely hailed boxing brain and speed.

Of the American's 42 previous victories, 41 had come by knockouts and that would have been 42 from 43 had Fury not somehow recovered in the final round of their December 2018 meeting, yet on this occasion he was no match for the Gypsy King's power and can have few complaints - if any - over his corner's decision to spare him an inevitable knockout blow.

Fury, who had to lose 10 stone prior to his miraculous comeback to the sport in June 2018 following his battles with mental illness and addictions, had promised during fight week that he'd take it to Wilder but few expected this 'risky' strategy would be adopted and a stoppage victory was duly priced up as 10/1 with the bookies.

After entering the ring carried on a throne dressed as a king, the 31-year-old made those intentions clear from the opening bell and took control - if not spectacularly - of the opening two rounds despite taking a big right from Wilder in the second.

A right hand which landed near the champion's left ear saw him go down heavily in the third and in the fifth his weary, tired frame tumbled over again after a right to the head and left hook to the body.

Wilder was up quickly and managed to avoid a finishing blow but by the seventh round he looked in disarray and another left hook had him hurt before finding himself pinned in the corner by the time the towel came in. 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.

Wilder said: "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."

"The best man won tonight, but my corner threw in the towel and I was ready to go out on my shield. I had a lot of things going on heading into this fight. It is what it is, but I make no excuses tonight. I just wish my corner would have let me go out on my shield. I’m a warrior. He had a great performance and we will be back stronger.

"Even the greatest have lost and came back, that is just part of it. I can make no excuses tonight. I had a lot of complications. But we’ll come back stronger 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 and supported the show, and I hope that everyone gets home safely.”

He was subsequently taken to hospital after the fight for precautionary checks. The American also required a couple of stitches for a cut in his ear.

It remains to be seen whether he'll activate his rematch clause but on this evidence, he may not fancy a third bout anytime soon.

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn certainly doesn't think there's a need for a trilogy and instantly tweeted his intent on getting the two British rivals in the ring as soon as possible.

Hearn later told TalkSport radio that British boxing would never get such a great opportunity again to have a unified world heavyweight title showdown.

Deontay Wilder v Tyson Fury: Round-by-round

• ROUND ONE

Fury rushes across the ring to meet Wilder but a tentative opening minute ensues before the Briton begins to exert his aggression. A left hook, right hand combination land and Wilder manages a reaching right hand.

• ROUND TWO

A big right from Wilder lands quite cleanly but Fury is not bothered. A Fury left hook looks decent before a left-right has Wilder quickly clinching.

• ROUND THREE

Fury hurts Wilder again early in the third with the American swinging away wildly. But a perfectly-timed right hand lands on Wilder's left ear, sending the champion down. He gets up quickly as Fury goes after him, hitting the deck again in what was a slip.

• ROUND FOUR

Fury goes looking for the finish with Wilder still possibly struggling from the previous round. Both men swing away, with Wilder slipping again.

• ROUND FIVE

Fury lands another huge right hand before, moments later, a right to the head and left hook to the body put Wilder down again. Again he rises quickly.

• ROUND SIX

Wilder looks exhausted and bewildered but still trying to find the saving right hand. Further left hooks ensure Fury finishes the round superbly.

• ROUND SEVEN

Wilder looks ragged and running on empty and he is hurt by another left hook. More lazy right hands follow from the struggling champion, who naively seeks solace in the corner. Fury then pins him in the opposite corner and peppers him with shots, prompting one of Wilder's corner to throw the towel in.

Tyson Fury's career timeline

2006-07: Ranked three in the world as amateur but not given chance to represent Great Britain at 2008 Olympics because David Price was selected.

2008: First professional fight aged 20 on December 6 in Nottingham on undercard of Carl Froch v Jean Pascal. He beat Bela Gyongyosi via TKO in the opening round.

2009 January to July: Wins his next six fights against Marcel eller, Daniil Peretyatko, Lee Swaby, Matthew Ellis, Scott Belshaw and Aleksandrs Selezens by stoppage.

2009 September: Wins the English heavyweight title on points despite a poor display against John McDermott in which referee Terry O'Connor was criticised. He ended the month with another points win in a six-round contest with Tomas Mrazek.

2010: Returns to action by stopping Germany's Hans-Joerg Blasko in the opening round of their clash in March. Then faces John McDermott in a June rematch but no controversy this time as he knocks him down three times en route to ninth-round stoppage. His rival had never previously been sent to the canvas in his previous 32 fights. Ends the year with two one-sided points wins over Rich Power in September and Zack Page in December .

2011: Defeats Marcelo Luiz Nascimento at Wembley Arena in February via a stoppage before taking on undefeated Dereck Chisora at the same venue for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles in July. Chisora was favourite but Fury won via unanimous decision 117–112, 117–112, and 118–111. Rounds off the year with early knockout wins over Nicolai Firtha and Neven Pajkic, who did send Fury to the canvas in round two.

2012: Vacated British and Commonwealth title to fight veteran Martin Rogan in Belfast for the vacant Irish belt and won it via a fifth-round stoppage. After a TKO triumph over Vinny Maddalone in July, Fury returned to the Odyssey Arena in December for a points victory over American Kevin Johnson. The scorecards read 119–110, 119–108, and 119–108 and despite the result putting him in world title contention, the media felt his performance was poor.

2013: Tyson Fury's travelled to New York for his American debut against Steve Cunningham in April and won via a seventh-round stoppage - although their was controversy over a headbutt for which he was docked a point.

2014: After David Haye pulled out of a proposed fight in September 2013 due to injury, Fury returned to the ring in February for a fourth-round stoppage of Joey Abell at the Copper Box Arena. His next test was a rematch with Chisora for the European, WBO international and British heavyweight titles and he again triumphed by forcing his domestic rival to retire in the 10th round.

2015 February: Tyson Fury's last fight before his world title showdown with Wladimir Klitschko saw him stop Christian Hammer in the eighth round.

2015 November: An iconic night in the Gypsy King's career - and for British boxing - as he outclassed Klitschko with an unforgettable display in Dusseldorf to win on points and to take the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, Ring Magazine titles as well as the status as lineal heavyweight champion.

2015 December: Stripped of his IBF title less than two weeks after winning it for agreeing to face Klitschko in a rematch in July 2016 instead of mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov.

2016 June: Postpones rematch with Klitschko after spraining his ankle in training. Shortly afterwards, it is reported he failed a drugs test for the banned substance nandrolone. He denies any allegations of doping and insists he is "baffled" by the reports.

2016 September: Again withdraws from his rematch with Klitschko, which had been rescheduled for October. A statement from his manager said he had been declared "medically unfit to fight", while those around him reveal he is suffering with depression. New reports soon emerge that Fury has tested positive for cocaine.

2016 October: - Takes to Twitter to announce his retirement, before backtracking three hours later. He also gives an interview to Rolling Stone in which he appears to confirm reports he had tested positive for cocaine by saying he had "done lots" of the drug. He says: "I don't know if I'm going to see the year out." Vacates his WBO and WBA heavyweight titles the night before the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) suspends his licence pending investigation into "anti-doping and medical issues".

2017 March: Suggests a return to the ring is set for May despite being without a boxing licence. Several days later on Twitter he describes his battle with depression as "the hardest fight of my life".

April: Becomes embroiled in a war of words with Anthony Joshua ahead of the Londoner's world title showdown with Klitschko at Wembley, and claims he will return to boxing in July. Immediately calls out Joshua after the 2012 Olympic champion knocks out Klitschko, saying he would win a fight against Joshua with "one arm tied behind my back".

May: Fury's anti-doping hearing is postponed. He continues to strongly deny any wrongdoing. The BBBofC says Fury's suspension will not be lifted until his doping case is resolved.

July: Appears to announce his retirement from boxing, hinting on Instagram that an "epic journey" has reached "the end". A source close to the fighter says Fury is "fine" and expected to fight on.

December: Clears a significant hurdle preventing any comeback when he and cousin Hughie Fury are cleared to box again by UK Anti-Doping after they each accepted a backdated two-year doping ban for testing positive for elevated levels of nandrolone in February 2015.

2018 January-April: Announces he'd be re-applying for boxing licence, which is duly accepted, and signs a deal with Frank Warren and under trainer Ben Davison, who succeeds uncle Peter Fury.

2018 July: After shedding around 10 stone to get back in fighting shape, Fury wins an emotional return by stopping Sefer Seferi in the fourth-round in Manchester.

2018 August: Overcomes former two-time world title challenger Francesco Pianeta on points in Belfast. He won every round and had no intention of trying to win early due to his need to get rounds under his belt.

2018 December: Sent to the canvas twice in a WBC heavyweight title clash with Deontay Wilder, who thought he'd won with a brutal blow in the 12th round only for Wilder to get back to his feet and survive until the final bell. Apart from these knockdowns many felt Fury dominated the Los Angeles showdown yet it was controversially scored a draw by the judges.

2019: Stays active with two more victories in the United States - the first being an easy second-round stoppage of Tom Schwarz in June but then had to cope with a bad cut against Otto Wallin to earn a wide points victory three months later. Enjoys a brief foray into the world of WWE wrestling to boost his American profile.

2020: In a highly-anticipated rematch, Fury knocks Wilder down twice en route to a brutal seventh-round stoppage which sees him win the WBC and Ring Magazine titles as well as retain his status as lineal champion.

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