QUINCY, Mass. (July 18, 2017) - Former New England. welterweight champion Derek Silveira Is trying to make up for lost time, 3 ½ years of ring inactivity from the summer of 2013 until this past April, as he prepares to headline the August 5th "Fight Night at the Bay" card, presented by Granite Chin Promotions, at Marina Bay Sportplex in Quincy, Massachusetts.
Silveira (12-1, 6 KOs), fighting out of Salem (MA), will face former world title challenger Michael "Cold Blood" Clark (44-16-1, 18 KOs) in the eight-round main event.
The 31-year-old Silveira fought for a long time with bones spurs in his right elbow. He underwent surgery and later went to training camp in Las Vegas for a fight that, unfortunately, fell through. Then, as a worker for a moving company, he fell through steps, resulting in torn labrum in his left hip. It took a terribly frustrating 1 ½ years for his insurance company to finally approve the operation, which was followed, of course, by a lengthy therapy program.
"A long process," Silveira said. "It was tough watching everybody fight while I was unable. I even had to watch guys fight for the New England title that I never lost in the ring but was unable to keep because I couldn't fight."
Silveira was a decorated New England amateur boxer with more than 300 matches, including six consecutive Central Mass (Lowell) Golden Gloves titles and two New England championships (he lost a decision one year to current world junior middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade), as well as multiple Rocky Marciano Tournament gold medals to go along with those he won at the Silver Mittens and Junior Olympics.
Now 31 and having fought the past 20 years, Silveira is hungry to prove himself on a grander scale, starting Aug. 5 with Clark. "He will be a good test for me for a comparison to where I was in the past," Silveira commented about his veteran opponent. "Clark is a veteran who fights on his toes. I used to watch him when he was on The Contender (televised realty show). My sparring partner back then was (the late) Jeff Fraza, who also was on The Contender. It'll be good to see where I am.
"I grew up as a boxer. I had huge legs, strong upper body, and good footwork. I played soccer as a kid. I lacked power. The last few years I've worked on my power. Now, I'm a boxer-puncher. For this fight, I will start out boxing - my endurance will be there - and then I'll look to take him out in the later rounds. I want to look good and not get hit by his strong right hand."
Silveira has one of the largest fan-bases in New England, largely from North Shore (of Boston) communities, and Derek knows that they will be out in force supporting him Aug. 5. "My fans travel," he insisted. "Quincy isn't too far from the North Shore, certainly closer than Foxwoods (Mashantucket, CT), and I had a lot of fans there. My fans are overpowering; so loud and a little crazy.".
Many of NE's other best and most popular professional boxers will be in action Aug. 5. The eight-round fight between three-time world title challenger, welterweight Aleksandra Lopes (17-4-2, 1 KO), of Marshfield (MA), and former world super lightweight champion Lisa Garland (15-7-1, 8 KOs) has been elevated to co-feature because of its potential world title fight implications for the winner.
Quincy fighter Chris Traietti (23-4, 19 KOs) faces Nick Lavin (4-5, 4 KOs), of Shelton (CT) for the vacant New England cruiserweight title in an eight-round bout. Traietti is also the co-promoter of "Fight Night at the Bay", in addition to being a former World Boxing Council (WBC) United States cruiserweight titlist, college graduate and Iraq War veteran.
Fighting on the undercard in six-round bouts are Dorchester (MA) welterweight Gabriel Duluc (11-2, 2 KOs) vs. Norwalk's (CT) Shaka Moore (12-23-3, 2 KOs), Quincy's undefeated U.S. Marine veteran Brandon Montella (7-0, 6 KOs) vs. Florida light heavyweight "Money" Mike Sawyer (7-8, 5 KOs), and Irreland-native and Quincy junior middleweight Paddy Irwin (3-0, 2 KOs) vs. Philly's Demetrius Thomas (0-4). Holbrook, MA welterweight Mike O'Han, Jr. (1-0) takes on Dorchester's (MA) Daniel Amaro (0-2-1) in a four-round match.
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Tickets, priced at $60.00 (ringside), $50.00 (general admission) and $40.00 (standing room), are on sale and available to purchase at www.ticketriver.com.
Doors open at 6:45 p.m., first bout 7:30 p.m. ET.
Tufankjian Auto Group and Tobin Scientific are major event sponsors; additional sponsors include The Chantey, Jack Campbell Electric and Hancock Tavern.
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