Tyson Fury won a battle of the ages against Deontay Wilder, retaining his WBC heavyweight championship with a devastating knockout in the pair's blockbuster trilogy bout.

In a brutal slugfest in Las Vegas, unbeaten British star Fury dropped American challenger Wilder in the 11th round to successfully defend his belt on Saturday.

Fury (31-0-1) and Wilder (42-2-1) went toe-to-toe throughout the heavyweight showdown, though the latter was out on his feet and it appeared a matter of time before the 'Gypsy King' scored the telling blow.

After a contentious split-decision draw in the first meeting back in December 2018, the rematch saw Fury take the judges out of the equation with a dominant performance, forcing a seventh-round stoppage that not only saw Wilder lose the WBC title but also his unbeaten record as a professional.

The trilogy was not seemingly on the cards — or at least not this soon — until the outcome of an arbitration hearing, a judge ruling the reigning champion was contractually obliged to face his former foe again, ending the possibility of a unification showdown with Anthony Joshua.

In front of a star-studded crowd, Wilder made a bright start, though Fury moved around well and managed to land a strike to the head in an exchange before the end of the opening round.

Both men continued to go for some big shots as the referee repeatedly shouted to keep it clean, with clinching aplenty.

Fury scored a knockdown in the third round after sending Wilder to the canvas with a big shot to the head and the latter – on the ropes amid a flurry of big punches – barely made it to the bell.

Wilder appeared to seize the momentum in an incredible fourth round, with the slugfest moving in his favour having dropped Fury twice in a concerning sequence for the champion.

Neither fighter took a backward step in a stunning showdown between two powerful hitters – Fury landed a blow to Wilder's head late in the sixth round and continued where he left off in the seventh.

Wilder, who spent most of the fight on the ropes, looked out on his feet during the latter stages of the seventh after absorbing another brutal strike to the head as Fury sniffed blood.

Having somehow survived, Wilder was floored in the 10th and was on the receiving end of an uppercut during the final stages and while he ended the round swinging, he was finally stopped in the 11th.