Blog : Ragazou

Professional boxer and observant Jew Dmitriy Salita, right, is welcomed by Rabbi Yossi Shanowitz at Chabad of Westmount. 

By JANICE ARNOLD, Staff Reporter   

Orthodox Jewish professional boxer Dmitriy Salita says he is ?re-evaluating' his life after the first defeat of his career, which denied him the world light welterweight title.

Ukrainian-born Salita, 27, who has lived in New York since he was nine, was knocked out by the reigning division champion, the British Amir Khan, in December in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England. As Khan is a practising Muslim and Salita fashions himself as ?the Star of David,? the match was billed as a ?holy war,? and drew a sizeable number of spectators of their respective faiths.

The stunning KO in just 76 seconds shattered Salita's 30 wins, one draw record since he turned pro in 2001.

?It was not pleasant,? he said recently at Chabad of Westmount, where he spoke to members of the youth group JTeens and took questions from adults after a screening of a documentary about him, Orthodox Stance, the title being a play on the term for the way a fighter positions his hands and feet.

Salita has no fights scheduled and indicated he might expand his activities in promoting fitness among youngsters, especially Orthodox kids.

?I'm looking outside the ring, thinking of how I can capitalize on the name I've built.?

At Chabad, he showed the boys and girls some sparring and dancing and other moves that are good exercise.

?Boxing is a great sport for everyone and teaches discipline' but I don't think it is a good career choice. It's a difficult life. I don't want to inspire anyone to become a boxer. Go to school and get a job,? Salita said.

But he insisted he still loves that life and it has been his way of achieving the American dream.

He encouraged parents to see that their children keep fit, noting that Maimonides  stressed that Jews have a responsibility to maintain their health. Getting regular exercise should be part of everyone's routine, like brushing your teeth, he added.

With his boyish, unmarked face, light beard and slight 145-pound physique, Salita does not fit the image of someone who punches people for a living. He wore a black suede kippah and low-rise jeans. He is soft-spoken and thoughtful, almost shy, retaining the faintest Russian accent.

He came with his new wife, Alona, whom he married in September.

Salita (born Lekhtman but he uses his late mother's name professionally) comes from a secular, non-athletic, family. His only consciousness of being Jewish as a kid in Odessa was that his father bought matzah at Passover and other boys beat him up.

Resettled in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Salita was bullied again, but this time it was more because he was the poor immigrant who did not wear the right clothes than because he was Jewish.

Although not very big or strong, at 13, he gravitated toward the famed Starrett City Boxing Club, where he quickly felt at home even though he was almost the only one who was not black or Hispanic. He figures he ?felt like a kid in a candy store' because he was among others also struggling to get out of a ghetto.

?God works in strange ways ? somehow, I ended up in a boxing ring,? he said.

His introduction to Orthodox Judaism coincided with his mother's having breast cancer when he was 14. She shared a hospital room with a religious woman whose visiting husband suggested he come by the Chabad centre in Flatbush.

There Salita met the charismatic Rabbi Zalman Liberow, who would have a huge influence on the teen, gradually guiding him to greater religious observance.

Rabbi Liberow's influence came at a difficult time in Salita's life ? when he was dealing with the terminal illness of his mother, to whom he was especially attached.

?At the beginning, I did not want to go to synagogue. I was uncomfortable, it was a different world, I was afraid I would not belong. But with the persistence of the rabbi, one day I went, and it appealed to me because I saw people from all walks of life. There did not seem to be any class system,? he said.

Salita discovered that just 10 or 15 minutes in shul helped his boxing. He rapidly rose through the amateur ranks.

Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson took notice and gave him a blessing. ?He told me, ?Do your job according to Judaism. Do not fight on Shabbat.??

That was not so easy to do, and it almost cost him the Golden Gloves because he refused a Friday night bout. Today, there are about 70 days a year he does not box. Fortunately, most pro fights are Saturday night.

Today, Salita is strictly observant, always covers his head outside the ring, never fights or trains or travels on Shabbat or holidays, and keeps kosher, even on the road. Rabbi Liberow's brother usually accompanies him when he is away, overseeing his religious needs, blessing him before he goes into the ring, and even cooking his meals in their hotel room.

Mention of Rabbi Liberow the night he was at the Westmount Chabad was painful for Salita, because the rabbi was seriously injured and his 10-year-old son killed in a car accident near Pittsburgh just the week before. Salita led a prayer for his mentor's recovery.

Salita sees no contradiction in a religious person's engaging a violent sport. ?It's important to see Godliness in whatever we do,? he said.

?I don't know why, but I felt fulfilled doing it [boxing] and doing it well. I was able to relieve my frustrations in the gym.?

One of the highlights of his life was being invited to a Chanukah celebration at the White House by President George W. Bush. It signaled to him that he had truly reached his American dream.

Chabad of Westmount director, Rabbi Yossi Shanowitz, said, ?The reason we invited Dmitriy to Montreal is that he is a walking kiddush HaShem. He is an inspiration because of the great sacrifices he has made for Judaism.?

His appearance was sponsored by the Irwin Beutel Lecture Series. JTeens, which is aimed at youth who do not attend Jewish schools and promotes community service on a non-sectarian basis, is sponsored by Diane and Myer Richler.