East Kilbride boxer takes home show win in Gladiators II bout

Lewis Connelly made it back-to-back wins to start his professional boxing career and admitted he had to fight harder than expected to take victory in his televised bout at Playsport on Saturday night.

The 24-year-old had to go the distance with Sheffield’s Paul Scaife at the Gladiators II event, which was broadcast live on BBC Scotland.

But he was pleased to come through the super lightweight contest with another good win under his belt, having defeated Jacob Marrer, also on points, in the previous Gladiators event in October.

Connelly said: “It was some night for me. It was a tough fight. I started off really strong but he was very durable and stepped up his game a bit.

“We ended up scrapping a wee bit, compared to what I had planned. He made it harder than I thought it was going to be, but it was a good experience for me.

“It went the distance of the four rounds. I thought I was going to get him away in the first round but he was too tough.

“It’s two from two for me now so I am buzzing about that and I am very lucky that they were both televised as well. It is not very often that happens so I’m really happy about that.”

Connelly confessed having experienced a TV bout before certainly didn’t make it any easier, as he opened the show on a night the headline fight saw Brandon Daord defeat Matty McHale.

He added: “Second time around I felt more pressure than I did in my first fight. I’m not sure why that was, to be honest.

“Maybe it was because I was opening up the show as the first fight on. I was feeling the pressure coming in but as soon as that bell went, I was flowing and confident. I had great support. I had a full section of friends and family who were there for me, so it was good having them cheer me on, especially