Big Jack Delivers Big – Marley gets Ireland’s first Olympic win
Jack Marley delivered for his country when they needed him most.
After a difficult start to the Paris Olympics for Irish boxing ‘Big Jack’ stepped up and delivered BIG.
The Monkstown boxer beat up and beat Mateusz Bereznicki to register Ireland’s first boxing win of Paris 2024.
It was a much-needed win for the team and a huge win for the 21-year-old is now just one win away from an Olympic medal.
The long-levered Bereznicki fired out a long and solid jab from the off and used that punch to dominate the opening minute. The Monkstown talented did have success when he closed the range and did test the chin of the Pole when he closed the gap.
Bereznicki was willing to fire back when dragged into a fight and that led to him taking three big shots in the final 10 seconds, allowing Marley to take the stanza 4-1.
There was more patience fro the Dub in the second stanza and he began to pick well-timed shots, the dip down come up with a left hook proving very effective.
The Pole was still there and like all heavyweight remained dangerous but the first heavyweight to represent Ireland at the Olympic’s since Cathal O’Grady in 1996 was well on top by that stage. The Sallynoggin boxer was bullying the bigger man – and as a result, the Irish fighter went into the last ahead on three cards and purring.
Across the final three minutes, he showed the wider public just why the Irish boxing fraternity have been hyping him up since he was a teen.
He took one huge right hand with a minute to go but either side of that Hail Mary was at his skillfully aggressive approach.
Marley will face one of Davlat Boltaev, a Tajikistan, who won the 2023 Asian Games gold or Georgia’s Giorgi Kushitashvili, who won World bronze and Euro gold at 86kg would for a medal.
