John da Silva or John Silva (born in Pukekohe

Pukekohe

Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is approximately 50 kilometres south of Auckland City, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Pukekohe...

 on 11 July 1934) is a former New Zealand wrestler and boxer. He represented New Zealand in wrestling at the 1956 Olympics

New Zealand at the 1956 Summer Olympics

New Zealand competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.Norman Read was not originally selected, but went to Australia...

 and at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

New Zealand at the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games

New Zealand sent a team of 63 competitors and 11 officials to the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, which were held in Cardiff, Wales. The flagbearer at the opening ceremony was javelin thrower Malcolm Hahn....

. In 1955 he held both the New Zealand Heavyweight Wrestling title and the Auckland Heavyweight Boxing title.

He was an amateur from 1953, then turned professional after the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff. He wrestled throughout New Zealand and around the world.

He retired in 1977, and subsequently worked with disadvantaged youth, being awarded the QSM

QSM

QSM is an acronym that may stand for:* QuickSilver Scalable Multicast, a networking protocol* Queen's Service Medal, a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand* Quadriceps Sparing Myopathy, a common name for the hereditary inclusion body myopathy IBM2...

. He now lives on Great Barrier Island

Great Barrier Island

Great Barrier Island is a large island of New Zealand, situated to the north-east of central Auckland in the outer Hauraki Gulf. With an area of it is the fourth-largest island of New Zealand's main chain of islands, with its highest point, Mount Hobson, rising...

. He is the father of boxer Garth da Silva

Garth da Silva

Garth John da Silva is a boxer from New Zealand, who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There he won his first round in the Heavyweight division against Cathel O'Grady of Ireland, before losing to Serguei Dychkov of Belarus...

.

Championships and accomplishments

• All Star Pro Wrestling
  • NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship (New Zealand version)
    NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship (New Zealand version)
    The New Zealand version of the NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship was a professional wrestling heavyweight championship defended in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated Dominion Wrestling Union from 1929 to 1953 and in All Star Pro Wrestling from 1968 to 1990...
    
    (6 times)