Silverman strikes gold at Carnival City

Silverman and his opponent Stone van Aswegen entertained the crowd at Carnival City in a welterweight tussle, which was the culmination of a personal duel that went the scheduled eight rounds in one of the best matched fights on the bill presented by BRD Promotions.

Directed by accomplished trainer Nick Durandt, Silverman boxed clever and it was the use of stiff jabs, often thrown in twos and threes, the proved to be his most effective weapon against the unbeaten Van Aswegen.

“That’s what happens when you challenge us,” Durandt said right after Silverman had his hand raised after taking a split points decision following the entertaining encounter.

By the end of the eight rounds two judges had Silverman, who left Van Aswegen with welts and a cut under his left eye, ahead with scores of 77-75 while the third tally of 78-74 went in favour of Van Aswegen, who provided a few nervy moments as he unloaded with his right hand.

In the main event of the night, Warren Joubert shook off the cobwebs of inactivity in his first fight in nearly a year when he claimed a unanimous points win over Masterd Mangaladza in their junior-welterweight bout over eight rounds.

Joubert looked rusty at the opening bell but he soon found his rhythm and timing in what was a good test against a gritty customer whose come-forward style made him something of a threat.

An accidental clash of heads in the third round opened up a nasty cut above Joubert’s left eye but he lived up to his “Warrior” moniker and soldiered on, and by the closing bell, he was a comfortable winner by scores of 78-74, 77-75 and 79-73.

In other fights on the night, Dowayne Combrink proved far too strong for Daddy Mpinga in their middleweight encounter forcing a stoppage at 1:18 into the first round. A stronger test for the Gauteng champion would have been a better option instead of padding his record with a walking punching bag.

Deon Coetzee claimed a majority decision over Jean Lutete in their cruiserweight tussle that could well have ended in a draw. By the end of six rounds the judges had it 59-55 on two cards and 57-57 on the other as “Big Dee” got a win ahead of his challenge for the Gauteng title later this month.

Walter Dlamini and Hanson Baloyi entertained in their super-middleweight clash over six rounds with the latter claiming a unanimous points win, while Stanis Kulondi won a split-decision in the opener over Vusi Bilankulu at junior-middleweight.