Dmitriy Salita - ORTHODOX BOXER
Reb Moshe
10 Iyar, 5765
Orthodox boxer Salita a winner at Chabad centre
CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
Michael Bergman, centre, the honouree at a reception held at the
Westmount Chabad Centre, is declared "champion" by professional
boxer Dmitriy Salita, right, and Rabbi Yossi Shanowitz of the centre.
By JANICE ARNOLD
Staff Reporter
The customs agent at the Canadian border was a little incredulous when
the young man coming up recently from New York explained that the two
pairs of boxing gloves in the car were a gift to a synagogue in
Montreal.
But when the agent realized he was talking to Dmitriy Salita, one of
the hottest prospects in professional boxing today - and an observant
Jew - he was waved through. The gloves were to be raffled at the
Westmount Chabad Centre that night. Salita was guest speaker at a
reception in honour of lawyer - and boxing fan - Michael Bergman.
One pair was from Salita's last fight in March when he knocked out
Darelle Sukerow at Hammerstein's Ballroom in Manhattan.
Odessa-born Salita, 23, a junior welterweight, is undefeated in his 21
fights since turning pro 31/2 years ago and is ranked ninth in the
world. As an amateur, his record was 65-5, and he won the New York
Golden Gloves in 2001, the sport's top amateur prize.
His goal is simple: to be world champion in his class, without
compromising his religious beliefs. Thoughtful and modest outside the
ring, he wants to be a role model for Jewish youth, and by the feedback
he gets on his website, that's already happening. He gets plenty of
encouragement from older folks, too, including those who can remember
the golden era of Jewish boxers.
Salita wears a blue Star of David, with his initials inside, on his
trunks. It's not a gimmick. He lives an Orthodox Jewish life: he
wears a kippah or other head covering, eats kosher and never fights or
trains on Shabbat or holidays. He showed up at an interview wearing
tzitzit because he had just come from davening.
Salita's trainer, Jimmy O'Pharrow of the legendary Starrett City
Boxing Club, says: "My gym is like a league of nations. I seen every
kind of kid come through the doors, but I ain't never seen one like
this Dmitriy. Kid looks Russian, prays Jewish and fights black."
At five-foot-nine and 145 pounds, he is known for a deadly left
uppercut.
Salita, his parents and older brother immigrated to Brooklyn in 1991.
He had taken karate in Ukraine and took up boxing at 13 at Starrett
City, well-known as an incubator for contending boxers. He insists
self-defence was not his motivation, but he did get into plenty of
scraps with those who rode him because he was an immigrant, nor did he
see boxing as his only way up the social ladder. He was a good student,
he points out.
Salita simply felt at home in the boxing culture and discovered he was
good at boxing.
Like most Soviet Jews, he grew up in a secular home, although the
family did have a strong sense of being Jewish. His religious practice
was limited to going to the synagogue with his grandmother, on holidays
sometimes.
That began to change when he was 14 and his late mother, suffering from
breast cancer, was hospitalized. Her roommate was an Orthodox woman and
when her husband visited, he and young Salita began to talk.
Soon Salita was spending time at the Flatbush Chabad and learning more
about Judaism from Rabbi Zalman Liberow, who took a special interest in
him. "At first I felt uncomfortable and shy. But then I saw people
from all walks of life, affiliated and unaffiliated, sitting and
praying together. I liked the atmosphere. Religion was not forced."
He became observant gradually, starting with little things, such as not
turning the coffeemaker on Shabbat. It is still a "process" for
him, he said. "It requires a lot of soul-searching to be
successful," he said. He takes Judaism seriously and discusses his
beliefs with care. A book that influenced his faith is Herman Wouk's
This is My God.
He sees no contradiction between his faith and in being involved in a
violent sport. In fact, he believes his talent is God-given and finds
strength in his relationship with God.
"Boxing and spirituality go together. It's a lonely sport. Just
before a match, I pray in my own way," he said. "There have been
times I would have stopped, but I feel divine providence made me go
on."
The Lubavitch community has given him its blessing.
Certainly, Rabbi Yossi Shanowitz, director of Chabad Westmount, feels
Salita can serve as an example to all Jews.
Bergman was especially enthusiastic. "Dmitriy shows that an observant
Jew can do anything. There's absolutely no contradiction. Orthodoxy
and living in the real world is not an oxymoron. Far from being
limiting, the Torah is a way to absolute freedom," he says.
People are curious about a religious Jewish boxer, but Salita says he
has not experienced anti-Semitism, just ignorance occasionally.
Sometimes it's funny, as the time when a roommate thought the tfillin
Salita was wearing was some kind of computer hook-up.
"I enjoy being different. People are surprised how good the white,
Jewish kid is, surprised that I can fight. I take that as a
compliment."
Salita role models are the greats of Jewish boxing before World War II.
"I've studied how they behaved inside and outside the ring," he
said.
His favourite is Barney Ross, who won world titles in three weight
classes. From an impoverished Orthodox family, Ross became a marine and
was decorated for bravery in battle of Guadalcanal. He spent his later
years speaking out against drug abuse.
"He went through a lot, and was a tremendous human being. I have a
lot of respect for him," Salita said.