Deontay Wilder proved his surgically repaired right hand is still a devastating force — once he unleashed it.

Wilder returned from right arm injuries to stop Gerald Washington in the fifth round and retain his WBC heavyweight title Saturday night in a fight that heated up quickly after a quiet start.

Wilder (38-0, 37 knockouts) seemed mostly cautious with his right in the early rounds but staggered Washington (18-1-1) and sent him down with a hard one followed by a left in the fifth at Legacy Arena. He came right back at the former USC football player and Navy mechanic, pummeling him against the ropes with both hands.

Referee Mike Griffin stopped the fight at 1:45 of the fifth after Wilder punctuated his barrage with a left uppercut. An unsteady Washington wobbled against the ropes on the opposite side after the stoppage.

It was the Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native's fifth title defense but Washington held his own before getting caught by the big shots. Two judges had the challenger from California ahead going into the fifth.

Wilder's left eye was marked up by the third round but neither fighter landed many hard shots in the first four rounds. Wilder landed 33 of 113 punches, or 29.2 percent.

Last year, Wilder, 31, broke his right hand and tore his right biceps in a knockout win over Chris Arreola, a replacement after Alexander Povetkin's disqualification for testing positive for meldonium. Wilder spent part of his training camp in a New York courtroom, where he won a unanimous decision in seeking the $5 million payday from the Povetkin fight.

"I just got a little impatient. I was trying to go for it. It was an even boxing match. I could have kept it like that and kept it boring. I don't know why I fell asleep there. I guess I lost a little focus," Washington said.

"I caught him with one shot when he was coming in. But instead of me keeping that play going and keep pushing him back and keep him in control by keeping him in the center of the ring, I tried to get on him. I was trying to play a little counter punch role and catch him coming in. He just caught me.

"It's just an experience. You have to follow the game plan and stay focused, stay patient. You may not get all the shots you want in the beginning, but you have to play the game all the way out and then things will start to happen."