36 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024 
J
N

Y

ou’re just as likely to find 
Dmitriy Salita in shul as 
you are at a boxing gym. 
And that dichotomy defines his 
life and career. A deeply religious 
Orthodox Jew who wears a 
yarmulke and attends services daily, 
Salita, 42, of Southfield, is also a 
former professional boxer and a 
2024 inductee in the Jewish Sports 
Hall of Fame. 
When he’s not engaged in 
religious observances or with 
his two children, Salita spends 
time running his rapidly growing 
business Salita Promotions, 
managing the careers of dozens of 
boxers from Michigan and across 
the United States and working to 
make an impact on the sport he 
says saved his life.
“God gives everyone a unique 
talent and place in the world, and 
I was fortunate to find it very early 
in life,” he says. “I feel my unique 
experiences and my vision and love 
for boxing will improve the sport 
and give great opportunities to the 
boxers I represent and the fans.”

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
In 1991, Salita was just 9 years old 
when he and his family fled Odessa, 
Ukraine, to escape antisemitism, 
seeking a new life in Brooklyn, 
New York. The family struggled 
financially. Dmitriy didn’t speak 
a word of English and was bullied 
for the way he talked and dressed. 
At age 13, he found refuge at 
Brooklyn’s Starrett City Boxing 
Club. Trainer Jimmy O’Pharrow 
took him under his wing. 

“The gym was in the basement 
of a parking garage. There was no 
heat or air conditioning, no running 
water, no bathrooms or windows, 
just one ramp into the basement,” 
he recalls. “It was truly the school 
of hard knocks. Jimmy taught me 
boxing and also gave me the school 
of life.”
Salita thrived in the rough and 
tumble world of boxing. As a 
scrappy teenager who showed early 
promise, he found in the sport his 
pathway out of poverty and a place 
to channel his pain. His mother, 
Lyudmila, was diagnosed with 
breast cancer just as his boxing 
career was getting started. 
That’s when Judaism became 
another central focus. A Chabad 
rabbi began studying with Dmitriy, 
helping him find meaning in all 
the chaos. His mother died two 
years later and Dmitriy took on 
her maiden name, Salita, as his 
professional name in her honor. 
“I always believed in God, but 
that’s how my observance started,” 
he says. “Boxing and Judaism 
intertwined in my life.”

A RISING STAR
In the ring, Salita was a rising 
star. He racked up a 54-5 amateur 
record, won the 2000 U.S. National 
Under-19 Championship and 
the New York Golden Gloves in 
2001, where he was selected as the 
tournament’s standout boxer. 
He turned pro at age 19 and 
had a record of 35-2-1 in 12 years 
as a professional fighter, winning 
the World Boxing Foundation 

Dmitriy Salita is on a mission to bring ‘Big Time Boxing’ back to Detroit.
A Knockout Career

ROBIN SCHWARTZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

Two-time Olympic Gold 
Medal winner and four-
weight world champion 
Claressa Shields with 
Dmitriy Salita following 
a successful fight at 
Little Caesars Arena

continued on page 38