LOCAL Muay Thai fighter Mark Amos is gearing up for his third major fight in as many months.

The 19 year-old from Galashiels takes on experienced Newcastle fighter Gary Laws from the Northern Kings Gym in Newcastle on June 25.

Amos had won five of his first six fights to set up a title bout with Ireland's Michael Harty in April.

He narrowly lost that one in the fourth round, and in May missed out to Brandon Bartell from the A1 Gym in Airdrie on points in their clash at the Civic Centre in East Kilbride (local fighters Ross Millar and Scott Linton were also in action on the night).

Amos will be looking to get back to winning ways later this month and those recent setbacks don't appear to faze him.

He takes it all in his stride and insists his career is on an upward curve.

Mark said: “Some people might have said it was too soon to face Mike Harty in Galway last month, but I felt like I was pretty much matching him blow for blow. And that's a guy who is champion and has been doing this for years.

“He got me in the fourth, and fair play to him, it was a good kick that I couldn't recover from. He is the champion, and that's why he is the champion.

“Brandon Bartell has already had already 22 fights. So there is vast experience there. But again, I felt I matched him. That decision could have gone either way.

“I am learning all the time, improving fight by fight. And the only way to be the best is to test my self against the best. I'm not going to duck a fight or select an easier opponent. There is no challenge in that for me.”

Training for Mark often involves brutal gym sessions and regular 3-5 miles runs. “Muay Thai might only last for five rounds, but you still need that solid base of stamina, so I will run for 3-5 miles at least 4 days a week when I can fit it around work,” said Mark. “I will also do hill sprints as well -which is easy to do in Gala, as we have so many of them.

“The key focus for us though is explosive movement. You need to be able to get your shots off early for maximum impact. So we run through drills that try to replicate that.”

The former Galashiels Academy pupil is reaping the rewards of working under the expert tutelage of Toby Douglas. A promising rugby player with Gala Wanderers, he has come on leaps and bounds since deciding to focus solely on Muay Thai at the end of the 2014/15 season.

 “It wasn’t an easy decision at the time,” he admits. “I delayed it for as long as I could, but I knew with the training regime for rugby and for Muay Thai that something had to give. Since I made the choice last year, I have never looked back.

 “Toby has been a huge factor in my progress.  There is so much knowledge to tap into there. He has been involved in the sport for so long, and knows it inside out. It is great to have someone like him in my corner.”