Cranbrook Eagles' Brandon Luke is having a very nice initiation to the sport of boxing, winning his second major tournament in just his second bout over the weekend.

He picked up an Alberta Silver Gloves title in Lethbridge in a unanimous decision over a fighter almost nine pounds bigger than him.

Eagles coach Bill Watson said that weight difference represented a risky proposition, but he and fellow coach Larry Adams were confident in Luke's skills.

"The tournament itself is for boxers with five to 10 bouts and he had one previous bout, so that tells you how much confidence we do have in him," said Watson.

Ryan Lindsay also got in a couple of bouts, losing his first before stopping his second opponent in the opening round. Colin Adams also made the trip, hoping to get an opponent before he heads off to the Canada Winter Games in Halifax.

Watson said Luke's hand-speed is comparable to Adams, and he used that to great effect in his Silver Gloves bout.

Luke - the 2011 Alberta Bronze Gloves 54-kg champion - had to jump two divisions to find an opponent in Challen Bowering.

Watson said they knew nothing about the Saskatchewan boxer going into the fight, but the 8.9-pound difference was noticeable.

"Brandon did well. He did everything we asked of him," said Watson. "He's throwing combinations of a boxer that's had probably 10 or 15 fights, he's that good at it."

Watson said Bowering moved well, but Luke was able to cut him off and let go three- and five-punch combinations, working up and down the body to win all the judges' votes.

With his early success, Watson said Luke is not suffering from a lack of self-esteem.

"He's getting a little cocky," he said, with a laugh. "But it's not going to get any easier for him. We go to Spokane March 12, and there is always tough opposition in the States.

"We're hoping to get him something good in his own weight class."

? Ryan Lindsay fought the seventh and eighth bouts of his career in Lethbridge.

He just barely lost his opening fight to the eventual champion Andrew Britton of Calgary.

Britton also went on to win the Silver Boy award as the tournament's top fighter.

"We only lost by one point, so he was that close to beating that Silver Boy," said Watson.

"It could have been one punch that made the difference in that fight, that's how close it was. Ryan boxed really well, and I've got to give the other kid credit - he moved well and you could see that he had a lot of experience. He didn't want to mix with Ryan."

Lindsay tried to cut his opponent off and engage, but couldn't catch up.

Lindsay won his fight against Blue Ridge, Alberta's Torston Nogel, as it was stopped in the first round.

? The Saskatchewan contingent that's heading to the Canada Winter Games was in attendance. They had a Canadian champion in a lower weight class, but the 52-kg Colin Adams had already beaten him twice, so they weren't interested in another bout.

Instead, Adams had a sparring match against the 60-kg Alberta champion. A sparring match is not scored but is overseen by a referee, and coaches are allowed to offer advice during the fight.

"Colin looked really good," said Watson. "It's a big weight difference, but Colin looked much sharper than his opponent. Hopefully that's a good sign for the Winter Games."