GLASGOW, Scotland – Alex Arthur Jnr, who is trained by his father, former IBF super featherweight champion Alex Arthur Snr, picked up the second win of his professional career at Glasgow’s Braehead Arena.
Arthur, a Scottish super middleweight from Edinburgh and now 2-0, was up on his toes as the bell sounded for the opener and immediately slammed a southpaw jab into the face of Mardyla. The Pole was slow but game, and as he edged forward to land a shot of his own Arthur scored with a hard left that sent him back into the ropes. Mardyla grabbed hold of Arthur but was not deterred by the youngster’s power. In the second, Mardyla started to grow in confidence and landed a flurry of body shots before backing Arthur up. Arthur was a little tentative to get involved in a brawl with Mardyla and elected to box from range, landing a stiff jab.
Mardyla started the third well and Arthur seemed to be struggling with the Pole’s aggression. Midway through the session Arthur seemed to realize that the round was slipping away from him and put his foot on the gas. The young Scot pressed forwards and backed Mardyla onto the ropes, unleashing his left hand to the midsection. Arthur had found his rhythm in the fourth and final round, he was now controlling the pace and busting up Mardyla with his right jab. Despite Arthur’s dominance, Mardyla never looked in danger of being stopped and pushed Arthur until the final bell. Arthur was awarded the contest by a score of 40-36, but the scorecards did not reflect Mardyla’s showing. Mardyla fell to 1-3-1 (1 KO) with the loss.
Earlier, junior featherweight Marcus Sutherland made light work of late-replacement Kerim Agius, stopping him in the opening round. Agius was scheduled to top a bill in Liverpool, England, in a rematch against Kurt Wiggins after their entertaining clash back in June 2024. Agius withdrew just days before the scheduled clash to instead travel up to Glasgow to face the hard-hitting Sutherland, now 9-0 (6 KOs), on short notice. It may be a decision Agius regrets, as Sutherland instantly applied the pressure and beat Agius from pillar to post.
Sutherland landed a hard right that wobbled the legs of Agius who backed into the corner. Sutherland was relentless and threw everything at Agius as he helplessly tried to cover up in the corner. After over a dozen unanswered punches, the referee had finally seen enough and called a halt to the contest at 1.58 of Round 1. Agius suffered the first defeat of his professional career and fell to 5-1-2.
Scottish amateur standout Reece Lynch picked up the second win of his professional career with a shutout victory over Poland’s Jakub Laskowski, now 6-38-1 (3 KOs). Lynch, a junior welterweight and now 2-0 (1 KO), came out for the first with the intent of picking up another early win, but Laskowski immediately showed he would be no pushover. Lynch fired in a sharp southpaw left hand that bounced off the top of Laskowski’s head.
Laskowski grew in confidence in the second and attempted to push forwards. The Pole, however, had limited success and Lynch was able to use his fast feet to get himself out of danger. As the bout continued it was clear that there was a huge gap in levels, Laskowski fell short with nearly every shot and Lynch was able to counter at will. Lynch attempted to get Laskowski, but his shots just weren’t having an effect on the tough Pole. Lynch had to settle for a points decision win by scores of 60-54, but is certainly one to keep an eye on.
