Framingham's Danny O'Connor Headlines Fight at The Garden

Framingham's Danny O'Connor is making it his mission to bring boxing back to Massachusetts.

And tonight, O'Connor (19-1) is bringing boxing back to The Garden in Boston, in an event called TD Garden Night at the Fights. O'Connor will fight Salem native Derek Silveira (8-0). (Doors open at 6. Fights start at 7. O'Connor is scheduled to go on about 10 p.m.)

O’Connor, a two-time national amateur champ, will be looking for his 20th win tonight.

He told the Boston Herald fighting at the Garden has been one of his longtime dreams. “Even before it was boxing, it was dreams of doing anything at the Garden. The Boston Garden is the Boston Garden,” said O’Connor. “Everybody dreams of doing their sport in it. It really has been my dream, honestly forever, so you can understand how excited I am to finally be so close to reaching that dream. It’s in my home. I love it here.”

O'Connor, a junior welterweight, is ranked 15th in the world by the International Boxing Federation and 22nd in the World Boxing Council.

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Earlier this week, O’Connor stopped by a Bruins game where he discussed fighting techniques with former Bruin Barry Pederson and met a few other local sports athletes.

“The Bruins were great to me,” O’Connor told NESN. “I got to meet Aly Raisman, and Shawn Thornton‘s going to be helping me out with the fight.”

Tonight Thornton will help out at the fight as Ken Casey of The Dropkick Murphys, one of O’Connor’s managers, is on tour.

“Ken’s gotten really good at holding the bucket,” said O’Connor to NESN, referring to the spit bucket. “So Shawn’s going to have to figure it out. It’ll be a little weird without seeing [Casey] in the corner, but I’m sure [Thornton] will do good.”

O'Connor, a state champion wrestler at age 16, dropped out of Framingham High before finishing at an alternative school.

At age 19, he started boxing with the Police Athletic League.

By 2008, he had won 95 amateur fights and a National Golden Gloves title, reported ESPN.

But his boxing career has not always been on the rise, there were a few downs, too.

In April 2010, minutes before a fight, he learned he had anemia and was coughing up blood. Undefeated at the time, he was knocked out during the fight, and ended up in the emergency room in need of surgery.

The husband and father had to find a way to get back on top and his headlining fights at Gillette Stadium last summer and tonight at the Garden proves he is on his way.

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Tickets for TD Garden Night at the Fights are available at the TD Garden box office 617-624-1000 or visit www.dannyoconnorboxing.com Event starts at 7 Saturday, Jan. 26.