Yuri Foreman

It would be accurate to say that Yuri Foreman, who held boxing's super welterweight world championship, is an exceptional athlete. But it would also be selling the man short. Foreman may be a former world champion, but he is also a unique American immigrant story, a rabbinical student, a husband, and a father.

Yuri Foreman became the first Orthodox champion in 75 years with a title victory in 2009, but life was not always easy for a man whose life has played out at times like a fictional Hollywood tale. The two-time immigrant, first from Belarus to Haifa, and then to New York, has struggled with issues of both personal and religious identity and faith, and what it means to be a champion as an athlete and as a person. Along the way, as he piled up boxing accolades, Foreman developed a deeper interest in his Jewish faith that led him to rabbinical school.

Yuri Foreman shares his amazing and unique journey in his talk about "Boxing, Judaism and Life." Foreman has been profiled by ESPN and appeared as a guest on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! Foreman is a sought-after speaker in the New York Jewish community, and has given talks at Israel Bonds , Brandeis University and the Jewish Federations of North America's TribeFest.

Foreman lives in Brooklyn with his wife Shoshana herself a plastic surgeon and reiki instructor , and and his three sons , Lev, Eliyah & Aviel