Phil D. Jay
WBN Editor
WBN Editor
Former world title challenger hopeful of Brooklyn battle
Dmitriy Salita is turning his attention to an all-Brooklyn
bout with Gabriel Bracero after seeing himself pushed back in the pecking order
to face WBA welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi by Britain’s Ricky Hatton.
A clash between Salita, 30 and the ‘Magic Man’ has been
highly touted since Malignaggi picked up the title from Vyacheslav Senchenko in
April, although the re-emergence of Hatton means that the Jewish fighter must
be patient to stake his case.
A victory for Hatton, ironically against Senchenko this
coming weekend in Manchester, would see Malignaggi defend his belt in a rematch
against the former world champion sometime in the spring. That leaves Salita out in the cold for the next few months
and the one-time WBA 140lb title challenger told WBN that Bracero is the next
best option for him to score a big fight in his hometown.
“We are working on a fight with Gabriel Bracero, but I am still
very interested in a match with Paulie or with Hatton but it seems that they are
going to fight each other,” Salita told World Boxing News.
“I want to remain active and have a significant fight.
Gabriel is from New York and is a very good fighter with some solid fights on
his record.”
Salita v Bracero is currently being talked about for the undercard of Danny Garcia's light-welterweight title defence against multi-time world champion Zab Judah on February 9 at the Barclays Center.
Salita v Bracero is currently being talked about for the undercard of Danny Garcia's light-welterweight title defence against multi-time world champion Zab Judah on February 9 at the Barclays Center.