Hard Work Pays Off For Silveira In Hampton

By Stephen Tobey

HAMPTON, N.H. – After losing against New England junior middleweight champion Greg Vendetti in January, Derek Silveira went back to the gym and addressed a few issues.

On Saturday, July 28, Silveira saw his work pay off with an eight-round unanimous decision over Larry Smith of Dallas in a super middleweight bout at The Rim Sports Complex.

All three judges, Mike Nolin, Mary Freitas and Martha Tremblay, scored the fight 80-72 for Silveira, a former New England welterweight title holder from Salem, Mass.

“I just worked on getting my legs back,” said Silveira, who is now 14-2 with seven knockouts. “I did more running, more hills. I worked a lot on my legs.”

Though Silveira won every round on all three scorecards, he was fresher and more active later in the fight, landing more combinations.

Smith, who dropped to 10-37-1 (7), injured his right hand early in the fight.

In the co-feature, welterweight Brandon Berry of West Forks, Maine stopped Francisco Medel of Urapan, Mexico in the third round of a scheduled six.

Berry (13-3-1, 8 KO s) dropped Medel once in each round. The final knockdown came after a right hand that landed on the shoulder, forcing Medel to take a knee seconds later. Referee Billy Mofford stopped the fight at 1:09. Medel dropped to 12-14 (8).

Debuting super middleweight Henry Gedney of Goucester, Mass. won a four-round unanimous decision against Saul Almeida of Framingham, Mass. Freitas and Nolin scored it 40-36. Tremblay scored it 39-37.

Almeida dropped to 0-10-2.

Neiko Clow, a middleweight from Claremont, N.H. was also making his pro debut and he stopped Demetrius Thomas of Philadelphia in the first round of a scheduled four. Referee Leo Gerstel stopped the fight at 2:33 after two knockdowns. Thomas dropped to 0-8.

Travis Demko of Stoughton, Mass. outpointed Bryan Abraham of Schenectady, N.Y. in a six-round welterweight bout. All three scores were 59-55. Demko is now 7-1 (10). Abraham is 6-30-2 (6).

Gabriel DeLuc of Boston stopped Clifford McPherson of Cleveland in the first round of a scheduled eight-round welterweight bout. DeLuc (13-3 4 KOs) dropped McPerson with a body shot and referee Mike Ryan stopped the fight at 1:43. McPherson (2-36-3, 1 KO) protested the stoppage, claiming it was a low blow.

Super welterweight Ricky Ford of Claremont, N.H.won a four-round unanimous decision over Rodrigo Almeida of Woburn, Mass. Tremblay and Freitas scored it 40-36 and Nolin scored it 39-37. Ford is 3-1-1 (1). Almeida is 1-8.

Nick DeLomba of Cranston, R.I. stopped Rashaan Blackburn of Cleveland in the first round of a scheduled six at junior welterweight. DeLomba, (13-2, 3 Kos) dropped Blackburn three times before Gerstel stopped the fight at 2:58. Gerstel also deducted a point from Blackburn for holding. Blackburn dropped to 8-52-2 (1).

Angel Conception of Providence, R.I. knocked out Paolo DeSouza of Woburn, Mass. in the first round of a scheduled four at middleweight. Mofford reached the count of 10 at 2:20.

Chris Thomas of Beachwood, N.J. stopped Roberto Valenzuela of Sonora, Mexico in the second round of a scheduled six at super middleweight. Gerstel counted out Valenzuela at 1:55. Thomas is 10-0-1 (7 ). Valenzuela is 66-76-2 (56).

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