Deontay Wilder knocked out mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale with a devastating right hand in the first round to retain his WBC heavyweight title Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Wilder flattened Breazeale with a violent right hook to the chin midway through the opening round.
Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs), who was coming off a controversial split draw with lineal champion Tyson Fury in December, made his ninth title defense.
Breazeale (20-2, 18 KOs) had won three straight fights since losing to WBO, IBF and WBA titlist Anthony Joshua in 2016.
In the lead-up to Saturday's fight, Wilder drew a rebuke from the WBC for calling out Breazale and saying, "This is the only sport where you can kill a man and get paid for it at the same time.