Jono Carroll brought unrelenting pressure until Scott Quigg's team couldn't stomach watching the punishment anymore.
In his best performance as a pro, Carroll forced Quigg's corner to throw in the towel for an 11th-round TKO Saturday at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, and live on DAZN. The end came just after Carroll landed a left hook that wobbled Quigg up against the ropes. The Dublin, Ireland, fighter continued to blast the British boxer until his team stopped the fight.
Although the fight ended in the 11th, it could have been stopped much earlier because Quigg was taking plenty of unnecessary abuse.
"This is what dreams are made of as a kid growing up," a victorious Carroll (18-1-1, four KOs) said.
"I was picking quality shots," he added. "You could see at the end, once I caught him on the ropes, I still had power to be able to whack them shots in."
The 27-year-old Carroll has navigated quite the learning curve and grown plenty since suffering a unanimous decision loss to then-IBF super featherweight champion Tevin Farmer last March. He bounced back with a unanimous decision win over Eleazar Valenzuela five months later and sparred with Farmer earlier this year. The growth was evident Saturday night against Quigg.
"It was quantity, but it wasn't quality," Carroll said of his coming up short against Farmer and fights of the past. "Tonight I showed quality."
The 31-year-old Quigg (35-2-2, 26 KOs) said after the loss that he wasn't ready to call it quits right then and there, but the thought seemed to have at least crossed his mind.