Dominic Breazeale wasn’t given much of a chance when it was announced that he would be heading into the ring with Deontay Wilder.

Breazeale had only lost once in his career previous to the fight, when he was knocked out in the seventh round by Anthony Joshua in 2016, while contesting the IBF heavyweight title.

However, fans across the globe believed Wilder’s explosive power would be too much for the 33-year-old, and they could not have been more correct.

With 43 seconds left of the first round, the Bronze Bomber executed a thumping right hand through Breazeale’s guard to send his opponent to the canvas and retain his WBC heavyweight title.

Breazeale managed to get to his feet during the referee’s count, but appeared dazed and shaken when falling back into the ropes, leading to the conclusion of the fight.

However, remarkably Breazeale has claimed that the referee stopped the fight too soon and he was able to continue.

“I think the ref stopped it a little early because I could hear him saying ‘seven’ and ‘eight’, but that’s boxing,” Breazeale said.

“He did his job and kept us safe for our next fight. I got on my feet and had my legs under me. It’s the heavyweight division so there’s going to big shots from guys with power.”

Although he’ll struggle to find many that agree with him, the Californian confirmed that he would be back to challenge for the title again in the future.

“This was a situation where he landed the big right hand before I did. I thought I was going to come on in the later rounds.

“I’ll be back and go for the heavyweight title again.”

Meanwhile, Wilder took his record to 41 wins and one draw, with 40 of those victories by knockout.

Whether it will be Joshua, Tyson Fury or Luis Ortiz next for the Bronze Bomber is unclear, but his emphatic performance against Breazeale can only give him confidence.