In the lead-up to his fight against Gerald Washington, Deontay Wilder admitted he didn’t watch much of the challenger’s tape. For the first four rounds of the fight, you could tell he didn’t as Washington controlled almost every second of the tilt.

But in boxing, everything can change with one shot. Wilder proved the theory to be correct by coming back to knock out Washington at the 1:45 mark of the fifth round to retain the WBC heavyweight title in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions event in Birmingham, Alabama.

The 6-foot-6 Washington controlled the first four founds, stopping Wilder in his tracks and controlling the distance with a stiff jab. Wilder looked lost, confused and seemed to have no answer for the former USC football player. He did more circling around the ring and didn’t look like a heavyweight champion of the world.

Wilder had dug himself a hole that was going to be hard to get out of, but the Alabama native showed the heart of a champion.

The “Bronze Bomber” set Washington up by connecting on a soft left jab, then showed why he is the hardest puncher in the heavyweight division by landing a vicious overhand right followed by a left hook to drop the military veteran. Washington made the count of 10 but Wilder quickly seized on the momentum with a flurry of punches and the referee put a halt to the action.

During his post-fight interview, Wilder made it clear he would like to next face WBO champion Joseph Parker, who was in attendance, provided Parker wins his upcoming bout against Hughie Fury.

The victory runs Wilder’s professional record to 38-0, with 37 of those wins by knockout. Washington suffered the first loss of his career and is now 18-1-1.