Nigerian-born Larry Ekundayo has emerged victorious in the Prizefighter: Light Middleweights III tournament at York Hall this evening.
The 30-year-old had beaten the bookies' favourite Craig McEwan in his quarter-final, before defeating Kris Carslaw to book his place in the final.
Meanwhile, Carruthers had successfully navigated Peter Vaughan and Navid Mansouri to meet Ekundayo in the showdown fight.
The first round of the final was a fairly even contest, with both men sizing each other up and waiting for an opportunity to attack.
Ekundayo always seemed to have the initiative, but got tagged with a nice right hand in the second round while he was on top, warning him to stay on his toes.
He stepped up a gear in the final round looking to put the decision beyond any doubt, stringing together a number of heavy blows that wobbled the Birmingham fighter early on.
It was a crisp left hand that drained what little fight Carruthers had left, and Ekundayo began to unload once more, forcing the referee to jump in and halt the punishment.
Victory sees the 30-year-old scoop a massive £32,000 prize having fought just twice before tonight's tournament.
Michael Penkman
