Deontay Wilder Retains World Heavyweight Title With Wild Finish

Deontay Wilder’s night against Gerald Washington did not go as smoothly as one would expect out of a Wilder fight, but he sent his hometown fans happy.

After a sluggish start in the first four rounds of his WBC heavyweight title defense, Wilder knocked down Washington in the fifth round and then crushed Washington with a barrage of hard punches, some of them simple wild and reckless shots that still were hitting on their mark. This prompted the referee to stop the fight in favor of Wilder.

Below is the final sequence of the fight that saw Wilder improve to 38-0 and get his 37th stoppage win.

Wilder started the fight with a lethargic pace, throwing few jabs throughout the first four rounds as Washington gained confidence by pacing his punches better as the fight went on. Wilder’s offense then started to rise as the fifth round began and culminated with the knockdown and subsequent flurries that won him the fight.

Washington was not Wilder’s original opponent as Andrzej Wawrzyk failed a drug test for the banned steroid stanozolol last month and was therefore taken out of the fight.

As for Wilder’s future plans, he said he’ll be keeping an eye on the Wladimir Klitschko vs. Anthony Joshua megafight in April, but also wants a unification fight with WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker. Parker defeated Andy Ruiz last December to win the vacant belt and is defending that title against Hughie Fury on April 1.