‘Star of David’ shines in comeback bout

Orthodox Jewish boxer wins decision over Dominican Franklin Gonzalez in first appearance since defeat to Amir Khan last December.

By JERUSALEM POST SPORTS STAFF
Dmitriy Salita 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Dmitriy Salita 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita (31-1-1, 16 KOs) made a triumphant return to the ring on Wednesday night, pounding out an eight-round unanimous decision over Dominican Franklin Gonzalez (13-6, 9 KOs) at the Oceana Hall in Brooklyn, New York.
It was the Orthodox Jewish pugilist’s first appearance since being stopped in the first round by Amir Khan last December in England.
“It felt great to be back in my domain, especially with the support of my hometown crowd,” Salita told The Jerusalem Post the morning after the fight.
“It was many months since my loss to Amir and, while I knew I still had it in me, it was nice to be able to give the fans a show.”
“With Rosh Hashana approaching next week, I am glad that I got this comeback fight behind me and my career back on track.”
On Wednesday, in a “Redemption” event that he himself promoted in the venue where he first began his boxing career, Salita showed no effects from his blowout loss – his first as professional – and took control of the bout after a slow start.
The judges’ final scores all had Salita capturing a commanding 78-74 victory.
The “Star of David” has dropped from the top 15 completely since losing to Khan and needs to work hard and build back up if he wants to get back in contention for a fight against another big name.
While it may take much more than a victory against a relative unknown for that to happen, Salita maintains that he take a patient approach and build himself back up slowly.
“This was not a championship fight by any means,” the 28-year-old Ukrainian-born New Yorker admitted.
“Still it is a step in the right direction and a big monkey off my back, so to speak. Believe me, the Dmitriy Salita story has a lot more pages to be written.”