Michel Rivera Joins Dmitry Salita's Boxing Stable, Eyes Championship Glory

Entertaining lightweight contender Michel Rivera is the latest addition to promoter Dmitry Salita's growing stable.

"I am excited about reaching my goal of being a world champion," said Rivera, in a statement from Salita Promotions, "This is going to be a great year for me, as I look forward to continuing on the path of fighting and beating the biggest names in my division. I have a great team and a smart promoter in Salita. He understands boxing and knows what I can do inside that ring to reach my potential. I am excited to work with Salita and to fight on DAZN, where there are the biggest stars in the super lightweight division. These fights will allow me to reach championship star status, and that's all I want."

He is as well known for his cosplay as Muhammad Ali, and he is also known for his ring cunning. Styling himself "La Zarza Ali" the Dominican fighter often wears "Ali" on his trunks and sports a hair cut similar to the boxing legend. Like Muhammad Ali, his boxing idol, Michel Rivera (25-1, 14 KOs) has shown resiliency.

Rivera was defeated by Frank Martin in 2022 for his only loss. Rivera was dropped for only the second time in the loss that many thought would be much closer. As a result many wrote him off, and he was matched tough against a former champion in his first fight at 140 lbs in an undercard appearance. Rivera showed tenacity and earned a bounce back win over the 140-pound world champion Sergey Lipinets. With the win, he has revitalized his promising career and staked his claim in one of boxing's most exciting divisions."

"The junior welterweight division is one of the most exciting in boxing," said Dmitry Salita in an exclusive interview," Micheal is coming off a career best win against formidable world champion Sergei Lipinets. He is in his suitable weight class at the right time and will show that he is a force to be reckoned with."

Rivera will be back in action later this spring on DAZN at some point, though the exact details of his next bout have yet to be revealed.

The 25-year old from the Dominican Republic is an exciting prospect who first gained attention in pugilistic circles when he defeated Rene Tellez Giron on  Showtime Boxing in 2019. Since then, he has risen in value and would likely be included in any ranking of the sport's top three dozen or so best fighters.

Indeed Rivera is one of many potential stars in a stacked 140-lb division alongside champions like Devon Haney, Teofimo Lopez Jr., Subriel Matias, and Roland Romero. Crowd pleasers like Josh Taylor, Jack Catterall, and Ryan Garcia are also potentially in his future. Others in the division, such as Regis Prograis and Sandor Martin might also be in his future. A match-up against Shohjahon Ergashev of Uzbekistan, who is also promoted by Salita Promotions, is another intriguing option.

(Additional reporting provided by Miriam Onyango)