Englishman Tyson Fury has handed Deontay Wilder the first loss of his professional career, claiming the WBC heavyweight title with a seventh-round technical knockout in Las Vegas.

Key points: Fury sent Wilder to the canvas with hard shots in the third and fifth rounds of their title fight

Fury sent Wilder to the canvas with hard shots in the third and fifth rounds of their title fight Wilder's corner threw in the towel after six-and-a-half rounds of dominance from Fury

Wilder's corner threw in the towel after six-and-a-half rounds of dominance from Fury Both fighters were undefeated in their professional careers heading into the fight after a draw in their last bout

Fight referee Kenny Bayless was recognising a request from Wilder's camp, who literally threw in the towel with their man pinned on the opposite corner and unable to defend himself against a combination from Fury.

After the fight, Wilder recognised that "the better fighter won" on the day but said he "was ready to go out on [his] shield" rather than have the fight stopped early.

Both fighters were undefeated as professionals heading into the fight at the MGM Grand Casino but only Fury left the ring with that record still intact.

Fury won his first world title back in 2015 with a shock victory over Wladimir Klitschko. ( AP: Isaac Brekken )

His career record is now sitting at 30 wins, zero losses and one draw; while Wilder has a 42-1-1 record.

Fury had sent Wilder to the canvas with a devastating shot in the third round, with the American wobbly on his feet once he did get back up after a six or seven count.

Wilder hit the mat again in the fourth, but he had merely slipped. That was not the case in the next round, when Fury landed a furious, left-handed head-body combination that sent Wilder down again.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 36 seconds 36 s Fury declared "the king has returned to his throne" after taking the WBC belt off Wilder. (Pic: AP)

Bayless took a point off Fury later in the round for an infraction, meaning it was likely a 9-8 win for the Mancunian, and Wilder returned to his corner with blood coming from his mouth and left ear.

The sixth round was less eventful, but no doubt won by Fury as he pinned the struggling American against the ropes for most of the three minutes.

Wilder was barely defending himself in the seventh round when the towel was thrown into the ring.

Wilder did not lose any of his first 43 professional fights. ( AP: Isaac Brekken )

It was a complete turnaround from their previous fight in December 2018, when Wilder knocked Fury down and seemingly out cold, only for the man dubbed the Gypsy King to bounce back to his feet and salvage a draw.

That marked the first time Wilder — who scored knockouts in 41 of his 43 fights since turning pro in 2008 — did not notch a win, while Sunday marked the first time he did not have his arm raised by the referee after a fight.

Fury won his first world title with a shock win over Ukrainian great Wladimir Klitschko back in 2015 before mental health issues lead to drug and alcohol problems and he vacated the WBO, IBF, WBA an IBO world titles.

After taking down Wilder to claim the WBC belt, Fury declared "the king has returned to the throne".

Wilder, for his part, said "even the greatest have lost and come back".

Look back at all the action in our live blog below.