Deontay Wilder dropped Eric Molina three times before knocking him out in the ninth round on Saturday to retain his World Boxing Council heavyweight world title before delighted home fans in Birmingham, Alabama.

Wilder was making his first defense of the title he won in January, when he became the first American since Shannon Briggs in 2007 to claim a piece of the heavyweight world title.

The 29-year-old American improved to 34-0 with 33 wins inside the distance. His unanimous decision over Bermane Stiverne for the title on January 17 marked the only time he's been taken a full 12 rounds, and on Saturday he lived up to his pledge to get back to the business of knockouts.

On the undercard, Puerto Rico's Jose Pedraza claimed the vacant International Boxing Federation super-featherweight world title with a lopsided unanimous 12-round decision over Russian Andrey Klimov.