MONTREAL — On his record, it will read off as his first stoppage win since moving to featherweight, but from the moment Darren Elkins was pulled off Antonio Carvalho, there was controversy. At the time of the finish, Carvalho was already back to his feet, and he quickly protested as ref Yves Lavigne stuck to his stoppage call at 3:06 of the first round.
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Elkins did have Carvalho in some trouble at the time, blasting his opponent with a right and then dropping him with another. Carvalho bounced right back up but as Elkins tried to throw what he was hoping to be the finishing blows, Lavigne told him he’d done enough.
The crowd loudly booed the decision, and Carvalho begged for the fight to continue, but to no avail.
“I knew he was rocked,” said Elkins. “It’s not my call, I would have kept trying to finish him. I would have tried to go after him. That’s not my job.”
Elkins has now captured five straight since dropping to 145 pounds. His overall record is 16-2 as he quietly moves into contention.
The loss snapped Carvalho’s two-fight win streak. He’s now 15-6.