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Utah heavyweight boxer Siala Mou "Bubba" Siliga doesn't have a lot of experience under his belt. But he does have a pair of wins already at the Golden Gloves National Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas.
Siliga, 20, advanced to the quarterfinals in the heavyweight division with a win over Iowa's Kurtis Taylor late Wednesday night at the Las Vegas Hotel.
One of eight remaining heavyweights in the single-elimination tournament, Siliga will box again Thursday night. The semifinals are Friday and the finals are Saturday.
Siliga is the last remaining Utahn in the competition, as Salt Lake City's Danny Galloway and West Jordan's Tyrell Rousch lost their opening-night bouts.
Wednesday, Siliga took control early, delivering a left hook in the middle of the first round that sent Taylor reeling and caused the referee to give the Iowan a standing eight count.
"I caught him pretty good with that one," Siliga said."After that, I just had to stay active and score points."
The second and third rounds were draws, so starting fast paid dividends for Siliga, who improved to 6-2 overall since returning to boxing last year when his high school football career ended. He is the nephew of New England Patriots defensive tackle Sealver Siliga and son of California kick boxer and MMA fighter Siala Mou Siliga Sr., who goes by the nickname "Mighty Mo."
"It feels good to make the quarterfinals," Bubba Siliga said. "But my goal is to win this thing. There's a long way to go, still."