As a result of my coaching accomplishments, the country presented me with a one-bedroom apartment in the Moscow region. This is the last present I received from the USSR before it collapsed in December, 1991. In this period, in order to survive in Russia, the options were limited to being a businessman, gangster, or a policeman. Many of my students became gangsters. In 1992, one of my best prospects was killed in a gangster dispute. He was only 19. In 1993, I lost another great prospect, Andrey Moskvichov. He was only 19, too. Some of my other students were imprisoned. I felt powerless to help them. In a conversation I had with a gangster leader, he said to me,"Mike, what can you give these kids, boxing medals? I can give them cars and money." I had no argument. Eventually, I realized there was no future for my boxing club. It just didn't bring in enough money. In 1994 alone, nine of my friends were killed by gangsters. Some of them were businessmen, some of them were gangsters - the youngest was 20 and the oldest was 37. It was no movie, it was reality. I was faced with the choice to either become a gangster or leave the country.

May 10, 1995 my wife, two daughters (1 year old and 7 years old), and I moved to Israel. We were selected to be one of the families who traveled with the President of Israel, Ezer Weizman, in his plane. In the plane, the president approached me, knowing I was one of the Russian team coaches, and he asked me to make Israeli boxing like Russian boxing. He wanted to see the Israeli flag raised and hear their national anthem. It was like a sign from above when the president told me this. When I got to Israel, I found the boxing program was in a worse state than I expected. Soon after arriving in Israel, I started training street kids in the "Basmat" school playground, because there were no boxing gyms in Haifa.

And so I started my Coaching Career in Israel (1995) And so I started my Coaching Career in Israel (1995)

Luckily, because of the climate, we could train all year outside. Yuri Foreman was my first student. It took me three months to find the money to buy a heavy bag. I hung it on my balcony. My students had to line up to hit the heavy bag. In 1997, we won the "Team Trophy" in the Israel Under-19 Nationals. We won three gold medals and one bronze. Yuri Foreman won the gold in the 132 lbs (60 kg) weight class.

My Team Trophy Winners in Israel Nationals (1997) My Team Trophy Winners in Israel Nationals (1997)