Las Vegas Review Journal – They packed the Islander Ballroom at Mandalay Bay Tuesday morning. More than 1,300 men and women, some who had just reached adulthood, others middle age, all bound together by their faith.

They paid rapt attention to the speaker, who in 10 minutes told them most of his amazing life story of growing up amid anti-Semitism in the old Soviet Union, immigrating to Israel, training with and befriending Arab boxers and ultimately landing in New York, where he honed his craft, eventually becoming a world champion.