Wilder stops Washington with fifth-round TKO to retain WBC title

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Deontay Wilder retained his WBC world heavyweight title against Vallejo's Gerald Washington, scoring a TKO victory in Round 5 Saturday night satiating a raucous crowd in Birmingham, Alabama.

To the surprise of many, Washington  controlled the early action with a stiff jab, moving Wilder backwards and keeping him off balance for the first four rounds.

But in the fifth round, the "Bronze Bomber" unleashed his trademark right hand power shot, dropping "El Gallo Negro" to the canvas. Washington regrouped momentarily - only for Wilder to unleash a huge flurry - and the referee jumped in to stop the fight.

In the co-feature bout, Jarrett "Swift" Hurd mounted a roaring comeback to stop Tony Harrison, claiming the vacant IBF world super welterweight title in the process. 

Harrison controlled the action early with movement, sharp jabs & counter rights, as Hurd plodded forward, telegraphing his shots.  

Hurd's relentless pressure, however, proved too much for Harrison to handle. After turning up the heat in the seventh and eighth rounds, "Swift" dropped his fatigued foe with a stunning right late in the ninth round. Harrison was able pick himself up off the mat, but spit out his mouthpiece, prompting the referee to waive off the fight. 

In the most entertaining clash of the night, Dominic Brezeale finished Izuagbe Ugonoh in the fifth round of a heavyweight slobber knocker. 

Ugonoh -- a former kickboxer -- set the tone early with thudding body shots, but it was Brezeale who landed the first truly telling blow of the fight, sending his opponent to the canvas in the third round. 

Ugonoh answered back in the fourth with a knock down of his own. But in the end, Brezeale's toughness and powerful right hand proved to be the difference makers. 

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