Tyson Fury 'almost sure' of third fight with Deontay Wilder as Eddie Hearn pushes for Anthony Joshua unification bout

Tyson Fury says is "almost sure" he will meet Deontay Wilder in a third fight after pulverising the American inside seven rounds to claim his WBC heavyweight title in Las Vegas.

Fury produced arguably the greatest ever performance by a British heavyweight on American soil to beat Wilder, knocking the 'Bronze Bomber' down twice before Wilder's corner eventually saw sense and threw in the towel for the referee to stop the fight.

It was vindication for Fury, who believed he was robbed of victory in their first duel in Los Angeles 14 months ago, with the bout ruled a draw.

Fury had vowed to knock out the previously unbeaten Wilder and took the fight to his opponent, fighting on the front foot, dominating from the opening bell until the final punch was thrown.

The conclusive nature of the victory cast doubt over the value of Wilder's rematch clause, with Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn immediately suggesting a unification fight against Fury needs to happen.

It is thought Wilder, who was taken to hospital following the fight and did not attend the post-match press conference, has 30 days to activate the rematch clause, and the 31-year-old Briton said he believes he will step into the ring with Wilder once again.

"The spoils of war are fresh," Fury said. "I need to enjoy this victory and Deontay needs time to recover. But I'm almost sure he'll take the rematch because he's a dynamite puncher and he can take someone out at any time.

"With that level of danger, you can always win a fight. I'm sure we'll do it again if he wants to.

"If he doesn't want to, I'm happy with whatever my promoters say. Whoever's next gets the same treatment, that's for sure."

Hearn, who looks after the interests of WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO champion Joshua, said he will sit down with Fury's camp to discuss a potential unification bout, potentially at the end of the year.

Hearn told talkSPORT radio: "What a time for British boxing. To have one world heavyweight champion would be great but to have two with all the belts, we will never see it again.

"I have said and I will make this clear, we have to make this fight happen. We will never get the chance for two Brits to fight for an undisputed heavyweight world championship.

"I will promise you we will do everything we can to make this fight happen."

Wilder was in trouble the moment a Fury right hand connected cleanly with his left ear in the third round, sending the champion face first to the canvas.

The blow clearly affected Wilder's equilibrium, affecting his balance and his ability to avoid more heavy Fury artillery, and he twice hit the mat again, although both were ruled as slips.

Fury registered his second knockdown of the fight in the fifth, catching Wilder with a right to the head and left hook to the body.

He was up quickly but tired as Fury looked to bring about a conclusive finish. Wilder, blood now pouring from his mouth and left ear, looked in a sorry state at the start of the seventh round.

Another left hook had him hurt and all he could offer was his trademark, lazy, looping right hand. Fury pinned him in the corner and Wilder's corner pulled their man out of the contest.

Fury, a former unified champion who defeated the great Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 before being hit by depression and addiction, was quick to pay tribute to Wilder after the MGM Grand showdown.

Fury said in the ring: "Big shout-out to Deontay Wilder, he came here tonight, he manned up and really did show the heart of a champion.

"I hit him with a clean right hand and dropped him and he got back up and battled on into round seven. He is a warrior, he will be back, he will be a champion again.

"But I will say, the king has returned to the top."

Wilder's defeat was the first of his 44-fight professional career. The American also required a couple of stitches for a cut in his ear.

The only other bout the 34-year-old has not won was the first meeting with Fury in 2018, which ended in a controversial draw after Wilder was outboxed by his opponent.

Wilder said: "I make no excuses tonight, I got a lot of complications.

"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."