He says that after this fight, he’ll go back to junior welterweight, because now that he’s training with Jimmy O again, he’s confident he can keep his strength. Plus he’s looked at that division and says he can win it.

But first, he’s got to win Thursday night.

“I’m on the verge of a breakout fight,” Salita says as we pull up to the restaurant. “You know what I mean? You pass the test or you don’t.”

His most fervent fans say he has already passed. “Dmitriy has been a champion since the day he laced up and said he wouldn’t fight on Shabbat,” Salita’s publicist and fellow Lubavitcher told me. “He fights for a higher power.”

Jimmy O sees things a different way. “You go to shul to pray to God,” he says. “But in the ring, you’re alone. And if God gets in the ring with you, you kick His ass.”

Related:

• Archive: “Features”
• Articles by Steve Friedman
• Table of Contents: Jul 24, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!