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'From Pillar to Post' -- Salita's Road to Respect By Ryan Songalia PhilBoxing.com Mon, 19 Mar 2007  It takes tough fights to make a tough fighter. You don't just wake up one day and declare yourself to be ready for the sport's twists and turns; It's something that grows in you. Almost a year ago, Dmitriy Salita found out just what it means to encounter the unpredictable danger inherent of professional boxing. Salita entered Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City sporting an unblemished record through 24 bouts. Preparing to go through what many perceived to be a perfunctory ritual with Ramon Montano, it seemed as if a celebratory waltz would break out for as long as the eight round fight lasted. Within the first stanza, the stunned crowd on hand to see Hasim Rahman-James Toney later that night inferred the inverse to be true. Montano sent the prized prospect to the canvas twice with an aggressive audacity that many felt would be abandoned due to Salita's growing reputation as a sizable puncher. However, Salita regained his composure as the fight progressed, and fought back valiantly. In issuing an even verdict, the three judges added the first blemish to Salita's professional ledger. It was a learning experience that Salita would not soon forget. "I have learned and grown tremendously as a person over the last year inside and outside the ring," said Salita. "Every experience is for us to learn and grow from. That is why we encounter them." The year 2006 would mark a turning point in Salita's public image. Many openly questioned whether the vulnerability exhibited against Montano, who through 16 fights has yet to record a knockout, was a portent of things to come or if it was, as Salita contends, an aberration and learning experience on the road to bigger things. "Well, people that don't wish me well remember me by that fight and it's all good," Salita stated. "That's part of life and part of human nature. A lot of things went wrong before that fight but it's okay. I took the fight under the circumstances and still fought well considering the situation. Had I been healthy the outcome would have been much different. Montano is a tough fighter and I respect his talent." A question of his competition has also become a primary point of criticism for the Brooklyn resident by way of Odessa, Ukraine. Of his 27 fights, none of his opponents have been ranked in the top 15 by any of the four major sanctioning bodies. Salita doesn't feel as if he's been fed patsies on the way up. "The problem with the matches is that sometimes people don't realize how good some of the boxers are that I am fighting since they don't have a name. I believe I mostly fought B-level fighters starting from Rocky Martinez. It's all a good learning curve and I hope to get the big fights in the near future to prove my talent and skills." Those statements were afforded a boost of validity when Montano pulled off a big upset when he decisioned 25-1-1 prospect Americo Santos. After a short break, Salita rebounded with a pair of dominant wins over experienced trial horses Shad Howard and Francisco Campos, exhibiting significantly improved poise and composure. "I became more mature and stronger," Salita explained. "I understand and process what is happening inside the ring better with each fight. I have more confidence in applying my knowledge. All of my tougher challenges have served in my progress and will help me in becoming a world champion and a great fighter." The new year brings a fresh start and a new opportunity to get things back on track, which begins on March 22 in the comfortable confines of Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom. Salita's opponent will be Grover Wiley, a 30-8-1 journeyman whose most notable victory came in 2005 when the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez retired on his stool following an injury in the fifth round. Though Wiley has lost four of his last six bouts, he has been in with quality opposition on a consistent basis in recent years. Says Salita, "I know that Grover Wiley is a tough guy who has wins over Homer Gibbins and Julio Cesar Chavez. I am taking this fight seriously and look forward to putting on a show." Still, one fact cannot be ignored. This will be Salita's 28th professional bout, a point in most fighter's careers when they are contending for world titles. Instead, Salita is headlining Broadway Boxing. "I am not sitting around and waiting for a big money fight," Salita reasons. "I am staying busy and keeping myself active. It's hard work to get in good shape for a 10 or 12 round fight. I am staying busy because I am a boxing purist and the best way to learn is in the ring." In preparation for this bout, which is scheduled for ten rounds, Salita returned to the place where he began his pugilistic sojourn, Starret City Boxing Club. After starting his camp at Starret City, he finished a three-week stint in Deerfield, Florida, and has since returned to The Big Apple to complete the final two weeks of training. "Training has been going good," Salita said. "I have been sparring with Will Rozinksky, a two-time Golden Gloves champ and number one light heavyweight in the country as an amateur. Lou Sanchez, a local pro in Starret City, talented fighter. My main sparring partner over the last three weeks has been Ashley Theophane, the number one ranked junior welterweight in England. I met him in Gleason's [Gym in Brooklyn] and this was my second camp with him. He is going to be a serious contender in the junior welterweight division in the coming year. He gave me some great boxing for this fight." Should he prove successful in his next fight, Salita has expressed interest in receiving a title shot or a crossroads encounter with a fellow prospect on one of the premium networks. Two such prospects under consideration were fellow New York junior welterweights Francisco "El Gato" Figueroa and Edgar Santana. Rumors circulated about the possibility of a Boxing After Dark showdown between Figueroa and Salita late last year. HBO programming executives turned down the bout, forcing Salita to look elsewhere. "I am very surprised that he got rejected by HBO," stated Salita. "Gato is coming off defeating [Joey] Rios, who was a top prospect. He is definitely on my list of opponents. He has proven that he belongs with the top." The business with Santana has proven to be much more complicated. Ernesto Dallas, Edgar Santana's manager, has gone on the record stating that Salita reneged on a deal and was actively ducking the Harlem puglist. Not so, claims Salita. "Dallas is trying to get his boxer some ink. I played with Dallas in the sandbox for a bit with all of the Internet stuff, then it was time to move on." Salita remains intent on facing Santana in the future, with some speculating of a possible summer showdown. Upon Salita's back is a great deal of expectation and pressure, innate among his circumstances. Salita has become a franchise of sorts in the Jewish community, a vestige to the great days of Barney Ross and Benny Leonard. Salita is also an undefeated, highly touted prospect from New York, which brings its own sort of responsibility. The intense scrutiny of Metropolitan prospects has intensified as of late, in light of a slew of locals' recent shortcomings. "There is definitely pressure, but it's a good thing. New York's school of boxing is one of the best in the world. I am sure all of the other guys will bounce back and represent [because] they are all very talented boxers." Salita, ever upbeat about his own fortunes, doesn't wish to linger on the past. Media can speculate about this, and even about that, but it's the performer who ultimately dictates the course of the print. For all of the promise, all of the hype, all of the criticism, Salita has a forum by which to address all of the words. That forum is the ring, and his microphones are his hands. Any questions or comments? Send them to me at mc_rson@yahoo.com . Get better Johnny Tapia! Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ryan Songalia.  |
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