Jono Carroll made the most of a late-notice opportunity.

The former title challenger from Dublin picked up third consecutive win following a second-round knockout of Brazil's Aelio Mesquita. Carroll scored three official knockdowns, the last of which prompted a stoppage at 2:23 of round two Saturday evening (local time) at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai.

The sloppily officiated affair saw Carroll take control early in the contest, repeatedly sending Mesquita (20-6-1, 18KOs) to the canvas though not always credited with knockdowns. Carroll was able to work his stiff right jab and straight left hand, both of which provided the majority of the damage. 

Mesquita was down midway through round one, though it was ruled as a push. Carroll had to lobby for an official knockdown to be called at the end of the round, when a straight right jab send Mesquita down at the bell. The referee acknowledged the sequence in between rounds, instructing the judges to score it accordingly.

The cards ultimately didn't matter. Carroll floored Mesquita three more times in round two, one of which was not acknowledged. Carroll made it count in the final minute of the round, landing a right hook and left hand force a mandatory eight count. 

Mesquita was already a defeated fighter by that point, not offering any offense in return as Carroll went to close the show. A final left cross sent Mesquita down in a heap, with the fight immediately halted.

Carroll advances to 21-2-1 (6KOs) with the win, his third in a row following a ten-round loss to Maxi Hughes in an ill-advised move to lightweight last August. Carroll's lone other defeat came in an entertaining twelve-round slugfest with then-IBF junior lightweight titlist Tevin Farmer in March 2019. 

Saturday's fight came on three weeks' notice for Carroll, who was training but awaiting his next assignment following a ten-round win over Andy Vences this past September in Hollywood, Florida.

Anthony de Bruijn was given all that he could handle in a six-round majority decision victory over a valiant Diego Valtierra (6-5, 2KOs). One judge had the fight even at 57-57, overruled by scores of 58-56 and 59-55 in favor of de Bruijn (11-0-1, 6KOs).

Valtierra was outboxed early but consistently found a home for his overhand right. It was enough to discourage de Bruijn, a Dutch junior lightweight based out of Dubai whose superior skillset was enough to barely preserve his unbeaten record.

Both bouts airs live as part of a globally-televised card—including AXS TV in the United States—topped by IBF flyweight titlist Sunny Edwards (16-0, 4KOs) in a mandatory defense versus Philippines' Jayson Mama (16-0, 9KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox