How do you build a young fighter?
This is an age-old question in boxing promotions. It isn’t always wise to overpay for champions; promotions need to build young fighters into marketable attractions to be sustainable from an economic means (as well as building a reputable and reliable brand for the consumer).
Dmitriy Salita runs Salita Promotions and has not just promoted Claressa Shields to her multi-division dominance, but has started Big Time Boxing USA, a platform aimed at developing emerging fighters within his roster.
Salita is emerging himself as one of the United States’ marquee promoters and is working with several fighters in different positions in their careers. He has focused on the Midwest, his home base in recent years, building a solid following around the fanbase of Shields fighting in Detroit and her hometown of Flint, Michigan.
“We've developed a lot of fighters from beginning to world title [contention] like Claressa Shields, Vladimir Shishkin, Shohjahon Ergashev, Jarrell Miller, Otto Wallin, Jermaine Franklin and, even though they had fights when we signed them, we took them from a place of being unknown to having the biggest fights in their careers,” Salita told BoxingScene. “So, yes, there is a science to it. As a company, you shouldn't see prospects lose back-to-back-to back – that shows that something is wrong.”
Salita spoke of young fighters getting tested at each level and developing them to go to the next level. Currently, Salita is working with several young fighters, including:
Joshua James Pagan is a junior welterweight from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Pagan turned professional after winning a USA Boxing national tournament in 2021, defeating Keon Davis in the finals. Pagan, 25, has established a record of 12-0 (4 KOs) since turning pro in 2022. His notable 10-round unanimous decision over Haskell Rhodes in Puerto Rico served as a main event of Big Time Boxing USA. Pagan returned in February to defeat tough veteran Ronal Ron via unanimous decision on the Claressa Shields-Danielle Perkins undercard.
Joseph Hicks, a junior middleweight also from Grand Rapids, was on the USA Boxing team for the 2020 Olympics until the qualification standards changed due to COVID-19 and he couldn’t compete. Hicks, who as an amateur was a middleweight, now is lighter as a professional. He turned pro in 2022. Hicks, 31, now has a record of 12-0 (8 KOs). His last performance on the same Shields-Perkins card saw him stop undefeated Keon Papillion in the seventh round, which marked the most significant win of his career.
Pryce Taylor, a heavyweight with a solid amateur pedigree. Taylor, 28, has fought three times since signing with Salita Promotions in December and now has a record of 7-0 (5 KOs). Taylor, from Brooklyn, New York, has already fought twice in 2025 and is on a three-fight knockout streak.
Da’velle Smith, a middleweight from Taylor, Michigan, stands out at 6ft 2ins tall. Smith had a hard fight with William Townsel that saw him winning a majority decision. Smith is 11-0 (8 KOs) and doesn’t have the same amateur pedigree, but he bears a bit of resemblance to famous Kronk fighter Thomas Hearns. That also is the reason behind his nickname “Hitman 2.0,” a reference to Hearns, who at one time used the “Hitman” moniker.
Brandon Moore, a heavyweight from Lakeland, Florida, signed recently with Salita Promotions and had his first fight with the company in February. Moore, 31, won an ugly disqualification victory over unbeaten Skylar Gray. Moore, 17-1 (10 KOs), is looking to rebuild his career and find himself in big fights in the future with his new promoter after a loss to Richard Torrez Jnr.
“We represent Joshua Pagan. He's fought some seasoned veterans and some undefeated contenders that I felt were a good test for him, but they were close fights and he passed those tests,” Salita said. “It's great to see that Da’velle Smith, in his last fight, got tested. That was the plan, and he passed it not with flying colors, but he passed it, and if he learns it’s going to make him a much better fighter. So it’s very important to present different progressive steps [for] the fighters, depending on where they are on their careers.”
Salita credits his approach to Top Rank, whom he was signed with early in his career and believes is the best developer of talent in boxing.
“I had a chance to ask a lot of questions. I always was very curious about how they do it, and I believe that’s influenced me a lot in my development as a business guy in boxing,” Salita said. “The fact that my first boxing promoter was Top Rank had a tremendous positive impact on me.”
Salita makes the comparison to an attorney. You could have a talented college student with a ton of knowledge, but if you put them in the courtroom prematurely, it probably won’t go well. The same is true for a boxer. Ability must be tested by situations that form valuable experience.
“You got to go through different challenges so that you gain confidence and you know how to deal with it and that you’re able to emotionally and physically develop the skills and the mental strength to deal with the progression of the sport,” Salita said. “There’s a few very special fighters, like Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, even though guys need to be guided, but those guys you need to be less careful with. But everybody else, you need to develop them.”
One of the most recent fighters to go through Salita’s development stage is junior middleweight Ardreal Holmes, who is expected to fight Erickson Lubin in an IBF title eliminator. Yet there is no formula, no one-size-fits-all approach, because each fighter’s journey is unique to the development of their career.
“It really is very individualized, and it depends on the age of the fighter and the type of amateur career they had,” Salita said. “I sign fighters with good amateur careers, because amateur careers not only signify to me that you can deal at the highest level, but it also tells me that you can deal with life. That people die, you break up with a girlfriend, it shows that things happen, and that you're still able to compete at a high level. That shows me that you have the ability to make it. That’s very important.”
For Salita, the sport also taught him more than developing fighters and creating a promotional entity. Whether it was fighting junior welterweight titleholder Amir Khan in Khan’s prime or looking to help fighters like Shields or recent signee Subriel Matias get to the top of the sport, Salita credits boxing for teaching him so much.
“I love the sport of boxing,” Salita said. “I followed this sport very closely since I was very young, and even things that I learned outside of boxing I connect back to boxing. I’m very grateful that as a fighter, I had experiences to fight at a high level and to be involved with some high-level people. That gave me the education that is helping me now.”
