Another Partial Success for Jewish Boxing
In recent weeks we’ve had the prospect of watching not one but two undefeated, observant Jewish boxers in title fights. On November 14th in Las Vegas, Yuri Foreman won the WBA super welterweight championship by unanimous decision. Earlier tonight in Newcastle, England, Dimitry Salita fought Amir Khan for the WBA light welterweight belt, with a wildly different outcome.
About ten seconds into the first round, Khan let loose a staggering left-right combination that sent Salita to the mat. Salita never recovered. He went down again in the corner, and again against the ropes. At 76 seconds into the round, the referee stopped the fight.
Khan is a promising British fighter who also happens to be a Muslim. Although the press made much of the fact that a Muslim was going to fight a Jew, both boxers downplayed that aspect of the fight. Perhaps this restraint will be some consolation for Salita after his abrupt defeat. But don’t bet on it.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30