A Jewish boxer who is studying to become a rabbi captured the world super welterweight championship.
Yuri Foreman of Brooklyn defeated champion Daniel Santos of Puerto Rico by decision in Las Vegas Saturday night to win the World Boxing Association 154-pound title.
Foreman, 29, became the first Israeli fighter to win a world boxing championship. He spent the 25 hours before the bout observing the Sabbath in his hotel room.
Israeli politicians and diplomats traveled from Israel to see the fight, according to The New York Times.
Foreman was born in the city of Gomel in present-day Belarus, then part of the Soviet Union, and moved to Israel at 9. Foreman relocated to Brooklyn in 2001 to pursue his boxing career.
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