Boxing: Wilder promises mega fights after first round KO

Deontay Wilder knocked out Dominic Breazeale 2m 17s into their heavyweight title fight fight yesterday. Photo / Getty Images

Deontay Wilder believes they are coming, the mega match-up with Anthony Joshua and the rematch with Tyson Fury.

Until then, he moved on to some business with Dominic Breazeale. He took care of it quickly and emphatically.

Wilder got back into the win column yesterday, knocking out Breazeale with an overpowering right hand in the first round to defend his heavyweight title.

"There's been a lot of animosity and a lot of words said and it just came out of me," Wilder said.

Wilder hurt Breazeale with a right to the head early in their fight at Barclays Center, but the challenger had recovered from that early onslaught. But there was no coming back from the right later in the round that immediately dropped Breazeale, who was trying to get up as referee Harvey Dock counted him out at 2m 17s of the round.

"When I hit him with the right hand the first time, his body language changed," Wilder said.

And with the last one, Breazeale's body language crumpled.

Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs) was coming off his draw against Fury in December, the first fight of his pro career that wasn't a victory.

He wanted a rematch with Fury or a unification match with fellow champion Joshua but settled for a mandatory defence of his WBC title when those couldn't be made.

He ended it quickly, finishing off Breazeale (20-2) after being pushed hard in each of his last two fights.

Wilder weighed in at a little more than 101kg, a gain from the 94kg he was at for the Fury fight, but still well below the 110kg he set as a goal after feeling he was too small in that bout, in which he dropped Fury with a huge combination in the 12th but had to settle for the draw when the challenger got up and finished the fight.

An immediate rematch was expected before Fury surprisingly went another route.

"I understand what Tyson Fury did. When you get dropped on the canvas like that, I understand you have to get yourself back together," Wilder said. "But the rematch will happen, like all these other fights will happen. The great thing is all these fights are in discussion. The big fights will happen."

And Wilder won't need any more weight as long as he still has one of the most feared right hands in boxing. Breazeale had downplayed Wilder's power but he should certainly be a believer now.

- AP