Wilder springs to life to stop Washington in 5.

Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KO) awoke from 4 rounds of patient stalking to stop tough Gerald Washington (18-0-1, 12 Ko's) to successfully defend his WBC heavyweight championship for the fifth successive time last night at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.. the bout saw very little action for four rounds, with Washington initiating what action there was, Wilder appeared to be lining the challenger up for single shots, often being beaten to the punch by the huge unbeaten Californian..  Wilder did offer a little more in the 4th, possibly the only single round he won, before closing the show in the middle of the fifth.  A right hand left hook combination dropped Washington, who calmly regained his composure, albeit on unsteady legs, Wilder took the opportunity to finish the job, flailing away uncontrollably until referee Mike Griffin stopped the bout at 1:45 of the round..  Washington was on his feet at the time of the stoppage but had taken a lot of heavy weather, without reply..