Deontay Wilder came through the toughest test of his professional career on Saturday night by stopping Luis Ortiz in the 10th round and defending his WBC belt once again.

Wilder managed to survive a particularly difficult seventh round when Ortiz found his rhythm, landed some big punches and only the bell saved the champion from falling.

The American's trainer Jay Deas explained after the fight how he felt about this 'treacherous minute' in between rounds and Deontay's gameplan as a whole.

"I knew he would respond well. I was worried but I could see he was problem-solving," Deas told Sky Sports.

"He was grabbing and holding and, when there was space, trying to punch. He was in a hurricane but kept a level of composure and a presence of mind. That was a treacherous minute. Boy, what a tough fight.

"I've seen him in so many competitions and in so many personal situations where it looks bleak, from the outside. But I know Deontay pulls through those moments. He can dig deeper than anybody you will ever meet."

'The Bronze Bomber' was checked by the doctor and given some recovery time before the eighth round. But Deas insists that extra time was also given to Ortiz when he was floored for the first time.

"The New York rules say the fighter's safety is paramount," Deas explained.

"I also know that, after Ortiz's first knock-down, he was given extra time. It wasn't just an eight-count. There were additional seconds.

"I asked Deontay if he was okay [after the seventh round]. He said he was. I said: 'Ortiz has wasted a lot of energy. With the minute's rest he's probably got another 30 seconds of real, serious output in him'.

"We had to be careful but I said: 'Ortiz is almost done, he's wasted almost his entire arsenal and doesn't have much left'. We just had to get through the next round - stay off the ropes, big pivots, move our feet."

Wilder weathered the storm and managed to land a sequence of big shots in the 10th round, ending Ortiz`s undefeated record.

"Our thought process was that Ortiz wanted to counter Deontay's right hand," Deas added.

"They know it's an incredible weapon and the best thing that Ortiz does is a drop-snap - he takes a little lean back then comes over your right hand with his left hand. We thought their plan was to make Deontay reach or lunge, then drop-snap with the left hand.

"We decided not to play their game. We decided only to use the right hand when we could land without repercussions. Even if the rounds went by, even if we lost rounds, we didn't want to push the issue until we could burn some steam from Ortiz because we knew Deontay has better stamina than anybody.

"Don't take unnecessary risks with the right hand until we wear Ortiz down. Once we've taken the steam off his left hand, then we'll be willing to trade our right hand with his left hand.

"I expected a mid-to-late rounds knockout. I thought if we're even, or a little behind, after the middle rounds then through eight, nine, 10, 11 Deontay's stamina would be greater and we would sweep the last part of the fight."

Wilder is now gunning for a unification bout with Anthony Joshua, whose title defence is coming up at the end of the month.