WINNIPEG — Thanks to the miracle of the Internet, I recently was able to avail myself of the rare opportunity of viewing Russian-Jewish boxer Dmitry Salita fight for the World Boxing Association light welterweight title.
Dmitry Salita shows punching power on more successful occasions
The bout came just three weeks after his countryman and close friend Yuri Foreman captured the WBA super welterweight belt with a convincing unanimous decision over Daniel Santos.
Foreman, a Belarus-born Israeli studying to become an Orthodox rabbi in a Brooklyn, N.Y., yeshiva, and still undefeated in 28 bouts, awaited his friend Dmitry, undefeated in 31 matches, to duplicate his accomplishment.
Well, it turned out that while Foreman followed the paths of glory, Salita staggered down the boulevard of broken dreams. From the outset, it had been stated by boxing mavens that on his way up, Salita fought lesser-skilled opponents, while Foreman, who had been rated a more scientific boxer and whose bouts were more like a chess match, took on stiffer challengers.
Another ill omen for Salita was that hours before the bout, he had difficulty meeting the division weight requirement of 140 pounds and had to sweat it out. A subsequent setback at the arena site in Newcastle, England, was the evident crowd-support advantage that champion Amir Khan enjoyed.
Khan, who captured silver in the 2004 Olympic Games, had suffered only one defeat in 21 showings. The Bolton, Lancashire-born pugilist, who turned 23 on Dec. 8, was required to defend his belt since time limits are placed upon title holders.
When taking on a mandatory opponent, a champion’s entourage makes certain that their man won’t be overmatched by anyone. Salita, supposedly the number 1 contender, appeared to fit the bill. He might put up a decent fight, but not likely to score an upset.
Being the challenger, the Jewish boxer was introduced first, and by the shouts of derision and contempt, one would have imagined that Salita was going to play the villain as in wrestling circles.
In sharp contrast, Khan, a Muslim of Pakistani descent, was heralded by his large throng as the conquering hero. No surprise there, because much like international soccer games, boxing matches attract strong ethnic followings complete with waving flags and England has a large population of Pakistani immigrants.
At the sound of the bell for round 1, the fight announcer barely had time to inform his audience that Salita might be following in the footsteps of former great Jewish champions such as Benny Leonard, Max Baer and Maxie Rosenbloom before reality set in.
Ten seconds into the fight, Khan levelled Salita. The dazed fallen fighter then bounced back up and took a standing eight count while trying desperately to impersonate someone who had just accidentally slipped on a banana peel.
Seconds later, Khan landed another hard right, followed by a flurry of punches, and his obviously outclassed and surprised opponent went down again. From this viewer’s perspective, the cat and mouse game was over and the fight ought to have been halted, saving Salita from further serious punishment or possible permanent injury.
Puerto Rican referee Luis Pablon, however, gave Salita his third and last futile opportunity to score an almost improbable upset, and following another barrage of laser-directed blows, the loser’s knees buckled once again as he went backward into the ropes and mercifully the challenger’s night was over. History will record the outcome as a first-round TKO.
It took only a minute and 16 seconds for King Khan to destroy Salita – it took me a minute and 50 seconds to microwave a bag of low-fat, low-salt popcorn that was as tasteless as the fight’s eventual outcome.
Following the ambush, only time will tell whether Salita’s people will encourage or discourage their boy from ever entering the ring again.
