LAS VEGAS -- Deontay Wilder became the first American to win a piece of the heavyweight title in nearly a decade Saturday night, staggering Bermane Stiverne early on his way to a 12-round unanimous decision that kept him unbeaten in 33 fights. Andrija Novakovich USA Jersey . Going deep into a fight for the first time in his career, Wilder controlled the fight with a big left jab, often followed by right hands up the middle as he piled up points early on his way to the biggest win of his career. The 2008 Olympic bronze medallist , who had never been past the fourth round in winning all 32 of his previous fights, had to go the distance in this one. But the payoff was the WBC heavyweight title and a chance to be a big man on a big stage. One ringside judge gave Wilder every round, scoring it 120-107, and he won 119-108 and 118-109 on the other two. The Associated Press had Wilder winning 117-111. Im going to bring excitement back to the heavyweight division, Wilder said. Im not going to sit around. Whoever is ready, Im ready. Wilder had stopped all 32 of his opponents, 18 in the first round and none past the fourth. But his opponents were a suspect lot, and Stiverne (24-2-1) was his first big test as a pro. He passed it with flying colours, staggering Stiverne on several occasions and dominating the fight with his left jab. Who cant box? Who cant box? Stiverne shouted at the ringside media as the fight ended. Ringside punch stats showed Wilders dominance, crediting him with landing 227 of 621 punches, including 120 of 420 jabs. Stiverne landed 110 of 327 punches, and only 38 jabs. It was the first heavyweight title fight at the MGM Grand since Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfields ear in the infamous Bite Fight 18 years ago. Both Tyson and Holyfield were on hand to watch, as was Larry Holmes, who fought often on the big stage as heavyweight champion in the 1970s and 80s. And the Alabama native became the first American to hold a piece of the heavyweight title since Shannon Briggs in 2006. I think I answered a lot of questions tonight, Wilder said. We knew we could go 12 rounds, we knew we could take a punch. Wilder took some, but with a huge reach advantage he was able to keep Stiverne on the outside most of the night and made him pay the price when he came inside. Stiverne was never knocked down but was staggered several times. I wasnt myself. I felt 100 per cent but I couldnt cut the ring off like I usually do, Stiverne said. I was throwing hard punches but I could only throw two of them at a time. Stiverne was defending the title he won last May when he stopped Chris Arreola in the sixth round. The WBC title had become vacant by the retirement of Vitali Klitschko, whose brother, Wladimir, is considered the true heavyweight champion. Even in uncharted territory past the fourth round, Wilder continued to control the fight, moving backward and throwing left jabs to keep Stiverne away. But Stiverne kept coming, and his punches started landing more often as the fight entered the middle rounds. Come on, fight Stiverne yelled at Wilder after hitting him with a left hook in the sixth round. The crowd of 8,453 was on its feet in the seventh round as Wilder staggered Stiverne yet again, landing a left jab followed by a straight right up the middle. Stiverne went into the ropes but managed to escape once more, yelling at Wilder to fight some more while throwing a right of his own that missed badly. Both fighters tired toward the end of the bout, drawing some boos from the crowd. But Wilder was still able to use his left jab to pile up points. Adding to the scene was 83-year-old promoter Don King, who also staged the Bite Fight. King, who promotes Stiverne but has largely been inactive in recent years, waved a variety of flags as he climbed into the ring with his fighter, a big cigar clenched between his teeth. Like Stiverne, though, he left the ring disappointed. Bobby Wood USA Jersey .Y. -- That hangover from the Big East tournament is gone for Villanova. Christian Pulisic USA Jersey . A strong fastball. A big, bending curveball that can buckle hitters at the knees. Against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Elias put the entire package together against one of the leagues strongest lineups. http://www.usasoccerauthority.com/Customized/ . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone.Austin, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Having recently suffered their second loss of the season, the Texas Longhorns will try to get back on track when they entertain the Rice Owls on Monday. Rice has had a rough time of it in the first six weeks of the 2014-15 campaign, the team dropping more than twice as many games as it has won (3-7). The Owls recently had a modest two-game win streak stopped in a 79-72 overtime loss at Lamar on Dec. 22, and theyve been idle since. The teams three victories have come against questionable competition in Prairie View (68-64), St. Edwards (54-49) and St. Thomas (72-61), all at home. Rice will tip off Conference USA play on Jan. 2 against visiting Texas-San Antonio. Texas had been cruising along at 10-1 before hosting Stanford two days before Christmas. That game resulted in a 74-71 overtime loss, snapping what had been a three-game win streak for the Longhorns. The loss to the Cardinal marked the first home non-conference loss to an unranked team for UT since falling to Wisconsin on Dec. 29, 2007. Texas will open Big 12 Conference action next when it visits Texas Tech on Saturday. Texas has dominated the series with Rice, 137-59, and the Horns have won nine straight meetings, including a 66-44 decision in Austin last season. Max Guercy and Marcus Jackson scored 19 points apiece, Bishop Mency added 17 and Seth Gearhart 15 to go with eight rebounds, but those efforts went to waste as Rice fell in overtime to Lamar the last time out. Jackson drained five 3-pointers, helping the Owls go 11-of-28 from distance in the game. Unfortunately, they committed 21 turnovers while allowing the Cardinals to knock down 10 treys and claim a 27-17 edge in points at the foul lline. Jorge Villafana Jersey. . Gearhart (14.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Jackson (12.0 ppg) are the only two players averaging double figures for a team that is putting up only 63.9 ppg in hitting 39 percent of its field goal attempts. Mency (9.4 ppg) is close to joining the ranks, but the Owls needs to do a better job taking care of the basketball as they are guilty of 14.3 turnovers per outing. Rice has actually played pretty well on defense, yielding 66.5 ppg despite the opposition draining 38.5 percent of its 3-point attempts. Javan Felix scored 19 points, while Jonathan Holmes and Kendal Yancy tallied 14 apiece, but Texas still lost to visiting Stanford last week. The Cardinal became the first UT opponent this season to score more than 70 points and shoot better than 40 percent from the floor (.433). The game featured 19 lead changes, 17 of which took place in the second half. Overall, the Horns connected on 44.6 percent of their total shots, which included six 3-pointers, while Stanford drained eight treys and committed only six turnovers. The UT bench scored 30 points, to only 11 for the Cardinal. Texas is lighting up the scoreboard for 72.8 ppg, and it boasts four double- digit scorers in Isaiah Taylor (15.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg), Holmes (12.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg), Myles Turner (11.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.9 bpg) and Felix (10.0 ppg, 2.1 apg). Defensively, the Longhorns permit only 55.1 ppg, with opponents finding the bottom of the net on a mere 32.5 percent of their field goal attempts, which includes a lowly 29.2 percent showing from beyond the arc. Texas is among the national leaders in rebounding margin (+14.5), but it needs to tighten things up with regard to turnover differential (-4.5). ' ' '