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Anthony Joshua demolished Kubrat Pulev to retain his world heavyweight titles and set up a showdown with Tyson Fury.
Joshua was fighting for the first time since he regained his three belts from Andy Ruiz Jr Saudi Arabia 12 months ago.
And after a slow start, Joshua rocked his opponent with a huge right hand in the third round.
He then dropped Pulev with an uppercut but the visitor recovered well to beat the score and hear the bell for the end of the session.
And the Bulgarian defended well, landing his own right hands to give Joshua moments of trouble.
But Joshua landed an impressive right hand in the ninth round to crush his valiant challenger for the last time with two seconds of the session remaining.
The champion will now set his sights on agreeing to terms with Fury, who has the only world title Joshua has yet to win.
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
Joshua and Pulev were scheduled to fight for the first time in 2017, but a shoulder injury forced the Bulgarian to retire.
He was replaced by Carlos Takam and then had to work to return to the mandatory position.
He did it with a points win over Hughie Fury, but had to wait again for his chance against Joshua when the coronavirus crisis hit.
Both men agreed to take a pay cut, however the fight eventually took place in front of 1,000 fans at Wembley Arena.
The award offered, as well as three world titles, was a great fight with Fury the next year.
Joshua’s British partner was waiting behind the scenes after having walked away from his trilogy clash with Deontay Wilder after one too many delay.
And you’ve seen a cautious opening round that Joshua skirted courtesy of his jab.
It was a similar story in the second session, but Joshua dropped his hands for the first time.
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
The fight came to life in the third round when Joshua caught Pulev with a right hand and then went to work, forcing the referee to count when the ropes held the challenger.
Pulev was later brought down by an uppercut, but managed to beat the count and hear the bell.
A quieter room saw Joshua return to his jab as Pulev seemed to have recovered well from the dangerous verse earlier.
And it was the challenger who hit the best shot in the fifth, forcing Joshua to hang on after a left-to-right combination.
Another right gave the champion trouble in the sixth as he struggled to regain his previous rhythm.
Joshua was confident in his jab, but caught Pulev with an uppercut in the seventh.
However, the Bulgarian was going nowhere and defended well in the next verse, but in the ninth he was swinging wildly.
And Joshua caught him and knocked him down with an uppercut and although he beat another account, Pulev was crushed by a huge right hand in the closing seconds.
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