ANSONIA - Mayor David S. Cassetti's initiative to recognize former Ansonia resident and World Flyweight Boxing Champion Pinky Silverberg will come to fruition at 10 a.m. Thursday with a street sign unveiling and dedication.
The sign's unveiling, at the corner of Main Street and Father Salemi Drive, is the location of Pinky Silverberg's residence in Ansonia where he lived for most of his adult life. Silverberg passed away in 1964 at age 59.
His son Ron Silverberg will attend and speak at the ceremony, unveiling the sign and exhibiting Pinky's original 1927 Flyweight Boxing Champion belt.
Pinky moved to Ansonia from the Bronx in 1920 seeking employment in the many Naugatuck Valley factories, and soon turned to pro boxing at the age of 16 by adding two years to his age. (Although listed as age 59 at his passing, his age was actually 57, due to adding the two years.)
In 1925, Silverberg took the Connecticut Flyweight Championship by winning a 10-round points decision against Al Beauregard held at the Opera House on Main Street in Ansonia. The win heralded his emergence as a potential flyweight contender.
He won the National Boxing Association Flyweight title in 1927.
Last fall, Cassetti debuted his original Pinky Silverberg Valley Young Gloves boxing program for area youth at the Ansonia Armory, an event that is scheduled to return later this year.
"Pinky was an inspiration for me growing up and I was intrigued by his Ansonia boxing history," said Cassetti, who was once a promising middleweight boxer himself.
This is taken from a press release from the mayor's office.
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