If all goes according to plan, Harly Kilfian will be fighting professionally by this time next year. Saturday night, the 23-year-old Carson City amateur was quite content with his semi-main event victory at the third annual Nevada Day Silver State Rumble.
Kilfian outpointed Andy Rogers of the Self Defense Club in Klamath Falls, Ore., in a battle between 180-pounders to provide a highlight for the host Bruno's Boxing Club during the amateur card held in the Stewart Gym.
"Harley looked good tonight," said Victor Bruno, athletic director of Bruno's Boxing. "He fought a tough four-round fight against a really tough competitor."
Kilfian hit Rogers for a standing-eight count in the third round and then finished with a flurry at the final bell as he improved his record to 11-10 with the win.
"It was a great fight for me," Kilfian said. "He's (Rogers) a tough fighter who came right at me. I just tried to stick and jab. I kept throwing my right at him, that's all.
Kilfian plans to fight again Nov. 9 in Sacramento and then again on Nov. 17 in Reno.
"I'm trying to get as much experience as I can right now. Hopefully I'll get a few more fights this year and go pro next year," he said.
In other action on the 20-bout card, Michael Kirkpatrick of Klamath Falls scored a second-round TKO of Travis Truhill of Bruno's in the heavyweight main event.
"Travis did real well," Bruno said of Truhill, who was making his second ring appearance. "He won the first round, but when you're a heavyweight, it only takes one punch and the guy (Kirkpatrick) caught Travis with a couple of real hard punches in the second round; the referee felt he'd taken too much punishment, so they stopped the fight."
Jose "Chuy" Elizondo supplied another highlight for Bruno's when he outpointed 123-pound opponent David Rios from Rite of Passage.
Elizondo, who just turned 14 last month, was a runner-up in his age and weight class at the Silver Gloves national championships earlier this year.
It was a good outing. But not perfect, according to his father and Bruno's head coach, Jose Elizondo.
"He was disappointed with the third round. He won the first two rounds, but he needed to use his jab more in the third round to keep the other guy off him," Elizondo said of Chuy, who improved his career record to 36-2. "Next time he will know, so this was a good learning experience for him."
Another winner for Bruno's was 13-year-old Lacey Gascon, who only needed one round in her ring debut. Gascon landed a strong right-hand to knock Bryan down for an 8-count and ended up with a TKO of Kathy Bryan from Pyramid Lake in their 147-pound bout.
"We're looking forward to a lot of good fights from her," Bruno said of the Eagle Valley Middle School 8th grader. "This was just her first and she wants a lot more."
Also, Skyler Sampson outpointed Jason Alt of Bruno's Boxing in an action-packed 170-pound bout that saw three standing-8 counts in the final round.
"The show was a real success," Bruno said. "I'd like to thank the Nevada Building and Grounds and Larry Hale for letting us train in this facility and POST (Peace Officers Special Training) for supporting our club. They make all of this possible."
Notes ... Bruno indicated that he plans to host another card the first week of December at the Stewart Gym. Saturday's card was filmed by Gala Productions and tapes are available for purchase. Call Bruno at 888-6806 for information.