Boxing rabbi scores win in return to ring
Yuri Foreman back on top in New York, bringing his career record to 33 wins, 2 losses
Former junior middleweight boxing champion, and newly ordained Orthodox rabbi Yuri Foreman, ended his two-year hiatus from the ring with a victory.
Foreman, 35, defeated Lenwood Dozier in eight rounds at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday night.
He received a 77-75 score from all three judges, bringing his career record to 33 wins, two losses, and nine knockouts.
According to ESPN, Foreman became the first Orthodox Jew to win a world title in over 70 years when he beat Daniel Santos in 2009. After losing to Miguel Cotto at Yankee Stadium in 2010 and sustaining a series of injuries, he quit the sport in 2013.
During his hiatus, Foreman was ordained as a rabbi by Dovber Pinson, a Chabad rabbi based in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, The Algemeiner reported.
Foreman, who was born in Belarus and grew up in Israel, now lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
“Boxing is a very spiritual sport. We all have different paths. My faith keeps me centered and focused. You can be anyone. You can be a rabbi and still be fighting on the big stage at Barclays Center,” Foreman said in a news release.