Despite fighting mostly one-armed against Chris Arreola, WBC heavyweight champion retained his title before quickly heading to the hospital on Saturday night.

Wilder raised his record to 37-0 with 36 stoppages when Arreloa (36-5-1) failed to answer the bell for the ninth round before a packed house at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

Arreola was floored by a right cross in the fourth round and a steady diet of jabs and hooks from Wilder left the challenger's face battered and his left eye swollen shut.

Promoter Lou DiBella said Wilder was taken to nearby UAB Hospital after a doctor confirmed he had a broken right hand and a probable distal tear in that biceps. Both injuries happened early in the fight.

Wilder showed reporters his injured biceps as he headed to the locker room and said he was already certain the hand was broken.

He threw the right, his biggest weapon, sparingly after the fourth round.

Even hurting, Wilder didn't lose his bravado. Before leaving the ring, he said he wants to fight the winner of the upcoming Wladimir Klitschko-Tyson Fury fight or undefeated IBF champion Anthony Joshua.

"My goal is to unify the division," said Wilder. "I'm one of the baddest, hardest-hitting heavyweights in the business.

"Right here from Alabama, baby. I came a long way. So whoever's got those other belts, that's who I want.

"It don't matter if I got a broken hand, a torn muscle, I'm going to fight like heavyweight champions do. I don't play boxing. Of course I want the Furys, of course I want the Joshuas but the question is, do they want me?"

It was Wilder's fourth title defense and third in Birmingham, about an hour from his hometown of Tuscaloosa

Arreola took the fight on short notice after Wilder's mandatory defense against Russian Alexander Povetkin was called off in May when Povetkin failed a drug test.

Wilder wobbled Arreola with a right hand then knocked him down with a barrage late in the fourth. He had Arreola off-balance on the ropes when the round ended.

With his right hand mostly out of commission, Wilder appeared to hurt Arreola again with a left in the final seconds of the seventh.

Wilder also broke his right hand in winning the title against Bermane Stiverne in January 2015 and had reconstructive surgery.

"I wanted to give you guys a knockout, but I broke my hand and I tore a muscle in my right arm," Wilder told the crowd.

"I couldn't show it, because Chris is a tough, tough man. I had to fight like a champion and use my jab all night."

Wilder connected on 152 of 346 punches (43.9 percent). Arreola landed only once in the first round and connected on 52 of 188 (27.7 percent).

Wilder had to go looking for another opponent after his May fight with WBC mandatory challenger Povetkin in Moscow fell through.

Povetkin tested positive for the banned substance meldonium - the same drug that cost Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova a two-year suspension.

Wilder has filed suit seeking at least $5 million in damages after losing that $4.3 million payday plus a potential bonus for a victory.

He received almost $3 million less ($1.4 million) for the fight with Arreola, calling him the perfect substitute opponent because of his heart and toughness.

Arreola indeed withstood a barrage and landed some hard body shots at times after getting Wilder against the ropes, but he was never able to mount a more sustained attack.

Arreola, who earned $150,000 for the fight, had previously lost title shots to Vitali Klitschko and Stiverne.

Wilder claimed Stiverne's title with a unanimous decision in January 2015, which remains his only professional fight to go the distance.

Arreola's majority decision over Travis Kauffman in December was ruled a no contest when Arreloa later tested positive for marijiuana.