Deontay Wilder vs. Gerald Washington: Winner, Recap and Knockout Reaction

A late change of opponent did nothing to deter Deontay Wilder on Saturday night at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, as he defended the WBC heavyweight championship with a fifth-round TKO victory over Gerald Washington.After Wilder scored a knockdown that had Washington on the ropes, he immediately went back in with a flurry of haymakers that led to the referee stopping the fight, via Premier Boxing Champions:Following the victory, Mike Coppinger of USA Today had to applaud the immense power Wilder packs in his punches:Wilder was originally scheduled to defend the title against Andrzej Wawrzyk, but the fight was scrapped on Jan. 25 after Wawrzyk tested positive for stanozolol.Five days later, Washington was officially announced as Wilder's new opponent. Washington came into the fight with an 18-0-1 career record, but this was his first career championship fight. Combined with the short turnaround time by taking the fight on short notice, Washington was facing a steep climb.Wilder is also on the shortlist of best heavyweight fighters in the world. He's now 38-0 after Saturday's victory, with 37 of those wins coming by knockout.The 31-year-old WBC champion said coming into this fight that 2017 is going to be a big year for his career, per Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports:I think I'm close to unifying the belts. I think this year will be a big step forward. A lot of people are talking about it and my team is 100 percent on board with it. We're taking the right approach to getting me in the position to get all the belts. There are going to be a lot of great heavyweight fights this year.One criticism of Wilder as he's been steamrolling everyone in his path has been his choice of opponents. Iole mentioned in his piece that Wilder could be the one to revive heavyweight boxing if he wanted to:We'll find out about his health soon enough, and the big fights are clearly there for him.It's the desire we'll have to see about. He's a smart guy and has to know that he's been slow-tracked. He should demand the big fights the moment the bell sounds to end the match with Washington.Call out the (Anthony) Joshua-(Wladimir) Klitschko winner. Call out Parker, Ortiz, Ruiz and Fury. Pick one, then campaign hard for the fight to be held.Boxing has become a sport built on individual fighters doing all they can to protect their record more often than wanting to challenge themselves. Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. waited five years past their absolute peaks to make a match, and the final result proved anticlimactic.Wilder is still very much in the prime of his career. Even at the age of 31, he's been so good and dominant against inferior competition that it's time to see what his power can do against the best in the heavyweight division.
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