LOCAL Muay Thai fighter Mark Amos has been crowned Scottish Champion after a hard-fought battle in East Kilbride.

The 20-year-old from Galashiels defeated Wojtek Oleksyk at the Ballerup Hall to take the gold last Saturday.

Mark managed to beat the Pole on points following an intense five three-minute-round match in his 13th fight.

The former Gala Academy pupil was put forward for the Class A bout after a series of local and regional contests and gave his all to win the coveted belt.

A delighted Mark told the Border Telegraph: “It is absolutely brilliant, an amazing feeling to have won it.

“And I think the message to take from it is that hard work pays off. 

“I knew Wojtek was a top Muay Thai coach in Edinburgh and I knew it would be a really tough fight, but I went into it with the mindset that he has two arms and two legs the same as me.”

His opponent, Wojtek, is a vastly experienced martial arts trainer, who has been involved in combat sport for more than 20 years. 

He is also ranked in the UK’s top 10. The Pole began fighting when he was 11, starting with kyokushin karate, kickboxing, and amateur boxing, before taking up Thai boxing at the Puncher Wroclaw gym in Poland.

But experience was beaten by pure determination last weekend.

Mark, who has only been in the sport for three years, says he had to be on the top of his game to upset the odds and claim the deserved victory.

He added: “Training for it has been really tough for the last eight weeks. 

“I have been training twice a day six times a week, with the only day off being Sunday.

“I have mainly concentrated on running and sparring to prepare for the championship fight.

“I got beat on points for the amateur title last year, but have improved since then and really stepped up my training.

“It is a really great feeling when you have worked hard for it.”