Although it wasn’t confirmed immediately, it’s almost certain that we have seen Scott Quigg in a boxing ring for the final time as he was mercifully pulled out of battle during the eleventh round of his Super Featherweight encounter with the relentless Jono Carroll.
Former Super Bantamweight World champion Quigg (35-3-2, 26 KOs) simply had to win at the Manchester Arena to keep alive any hopes he had of getting back to world title level, and although his fitness was as good as ever, his timing was alarmingly off and the Irishman took full advantage.
Carroll (18-1-1, 4 KOs) showed his intent from the opening bell, as he started off brightly, sending Quigg stumbling backwards and bloodying his nose in the first round.
Quigg was struggling with the speed and body movement of his foe, but did have small pockets of success in the third, although this was short lived as “King Kong” kept up his break neck pace to leave the Bury man struggling to keep up.
The pattern had long been set, and a flat footed Quigg simply couldn’t get out of the way, with Carroll landing a big right hand in the eighth.
Rounds nine and ten were more one way traffic, and in the eleventh round, a hook and a body shot sent Quigg towards the ropes.
With Carroll looking for the finish, Quigg’s trainer Joe Gallagher threw the towel in to end the contest.
Quigg admitted he was second best post-fight.
“He was the better man, and I was second best,” said Quigg.
“I’m a realist and I don’t kid anyone, this was a must win fight. At my best I would have won tonight. On this performance, I don’t know what’s left”.
“If this is it, thank you”.
It’s hard to see anything but retirement for Quigg, while Carroll will hope for another world title shot after coming up short against Tevin Farmer in a bid for the IBF belt last year.
Thank you 4 all the support 🙏
Congrats @jono_carroll 👏
Been some journey with this man @scottquigg .
From leaving school early 2 being crowned World Champion 👑 Scott invested & believed in himself to fulfill his dream. Been a real pleasure Enjoy Next Chapter #TeamQuigg ❤️ pic.twitter.com/jq8hJAXBma— Joe Gallagher (@JoeG) March 8, 2020
On a sparse undercard, Hughie Fury (24-3, 14 KOs) eased back in after a lacklustre showing against Alexander Povetkin last time out with a third round stoppage win against the limited Pavel Sour, (11-3, 6 KOs) who’s corner threw in the towel as the referee was about to stop the contest.
Fury let his hands go and regularly switched stances in a new look. An over hand right wobbled the Czech in the second and the 25-year-old dropped his man with a backhand shortly after.
Fury raced out of the blocks for the third and floored Sour again with a right hand. As the 37-year-old rose, the referee and his corner called a halt to the action.
Zach Parker (19-0, 13 KOs) moved a step closer to a world title shot as he stopped Rowan Murdock (24-2, 17 KOs) in a final eliminator for the WBO Super Middleweight title.
The Australian came to win and roughed up Derbyshire-based Parker in the opening half of the fight and made it an uncomfortable contest for the early parts.
From the eighth round though, the visitor started to tire, increasing the work rate and working his jab to good effect in the ninth, and teeing off in the tenth as Murdock faded.
The end came in the penultimate round, with a looping left hand landing flush on Murdock’s chin, dropping him to the canvas, with referee Phil Edwards waving the fight off.
Anthony Fowler (12-1, 9 KOs) continued on his path to a rematch with Scott Fitzgerald with a one round win over late-notice substitute Theophilus Tetteh (19-8-2, 12 KOs).
Tetteh was filling in for Jack Flatley, who withdrew earlier in the week due to injury, but the Ghanaian was little more than cannon fodder for Fowler.
Coming for you Scotty boy 🤖 #fitzgeraldFowler2 pic.twitter.com/CFIWsmp5UM
— Anthony Fowler (@afowler06) March 7, 2020
Tetteh’s main problem came in the form of his boots, as the lack of grip saw him slip multiple times. Fowler dropped his opponent three times, before the referee stopped the fight.
Elsewhere, Robbie Davies Jr (20-2, 13 KOs) returned after his defeat to Lewis Ritson, and had his first fight under new trainer Dominic Ingle, in a shutout eight round points win over Damian Leonardo Yapur (16-17-3).
Jack Cullen (18-2, 9 KOs) registered a second round stoppage over Tomas Andres Reynoso (13-6-1, 3 KOs) and Super Lightweight prospect Dalton Smith (5-0, 4 KOs) stopped Benson Nyilawila (10-4, 6 KOs) in four one sided rounds.
Elsewhere, Jamie Moore-trained Aqib Fiaz (5-0) registered a fifth straight victory over Dean Jones, Ricky Hatton’s charge Ibrahim Nadim moved to 2-0 with a points success, whilst there were wins for Blane Hyland (3-0) and Bradley Rea (9-0, 3 KOs).
