Instead, his position as No 1 contender was leap-frogged by Amir Khan, who went on to take the 140lb light-welterweight title from Kotelnik in July.
Salita, originally from Ukraine, unbeaten in 31 paid contests, was speaking exclusively to The Daily Telegraph and emphasised that Khan, whom he referred to as "chinny", will feel the brunt of his frustration in Newcastle a week on Saturday.
"I was No 1 official contender for the WBA and was supposed to fight Andreas Kotelnik before Amir got his chance," he said. "I'm upset about it, I was at the time. I was supposed to be getting the shot, but when Kotelnik pulled out originally with an injury, it was a big let-down. It's frustrating. But you get to understand this is how boxing works.
"Getting the opportunity of fighting for a world title is the toughest part of this game.
"The business side of boxing can be very tough, but thank God I got this opportunity. I'm very excited, and happy I'm fighting a guy who is one of the top, young prospects, who is well respected in the sport.
"Amir Khan is a chinny guy, and there is nothing he can do about it. So being knocked out is always going to be an issue for him. I'm not going out there looking for a KO. I've trained hard for a 12-round fight."
Amir Khan v Dmitriy Salita for the WBA light-welterweight title is live on Sky Box Office on Dec 5
Source: telegraph.co.uk
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