Salita Puts it on the line

Dmitriy Salita puts his prefect record (28-0-1) on the line when he takes on Derrick Campos for the IBF Intercontinental Championship on Saturday night, Nov. 8, at Madison Square Garden. The fight wll be carried by HBO Pay-Per-View.

In an NJJN article, Mike Silver, author of The Arc of Boxing: The Rise and Decline of the Sweet Science (McFarland), called the Ukrainian-born Salita “an interesting phenomena,” a reminder of that era of Jewish boxers because of his status as an immigrant. “These days, you don’t find many American-born Jewish boys involved in boxing.

You hear about Dmitriy Salita, a Jewish fighter boxing in this rough sport, don’t you have a certain amount of pride? What it does, it recalls the tremendous pride of Jews at that time, especially when they were struggling to make it and to be accepted and there was so much prejudice. Imagine the pride they felt when a Benny Leonard or a Barney Ross won a championship, beating these tough Irish guys that used to beat them up on the block.

You can read the whole story here.

Orthodox Stance, a documentary about the Jewish boxer, is making the rounds at various film festivals and has recently been released as a DVD. Silver will be the guest speaker at a screening on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 12:45 p.m. at the Regal Cinema Commerce Center in North Brunswick, NJ. The event is part of the ninth annual Rutgers New Jersey Jewish Film Festival. Salita will make an appearance at an additional screening on Sunday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m.

More about Salita from the pages of NJ Jewish News:

• Undefeated ‘Star of David’ shines for local ring fans
• Boxer implores young Jews, ‘Be strong, be proud’

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Kaplan’s Korner on Jews and Sports © 2008 New Jersey Jewish News

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