Jono Carroll

Carroll made his Irish professional debut in November 2014, when he faced Declan Geraghty at the 3Arena. On the undercard of Matthew Macklin vs. Jorge Sebastian Heiland, promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that the winner would earn a slot at the following month's Prizefighter tournament in London.[2] Carroll and Geraghty went on to produce 'Fight of the Night', in a bout which ended in the fourth round when Geraghty was disqualified for persistent use of the head, that same fight would go on to win Irish fight of the year.[3][4]

Carroll really stepped into the limelight when he accepted the invitation and became Prizefighter champion in December. The Dubliner was a relative unknown to British audiences when he defied the odds to defeat Stephen Foster, Gary Buckland, and Michael Devine to take the lightweight title. Carroll subsequently signed a promotional deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Sport.[5]

Despite being booked to appear on the undercard of teammate Spike O'Sullivan vs. Chris Eubank Jr, Carroll accepted a different fight at just a week's notice. On the Wladimir Klitschko vs. Tyson Fury card in Düsseldorf, Carroll agreed to the longest bout of his career so far, a ten rounder with Miguel Gonzalez. Despite the timing, Carroll outclassed the Honduran from start to finish, winning every round on the way to a unanimous decision victory. "I just went out there and enjoyed myself," he told Sky Sports afterwards. "Because I never fought 10 rounds, I wanted to see what it was all about. I wanted to get through without any injuries. I'm pretty proud of that."[6]