Ali Raymi | |
|---|---|
 Colonel Ali Raymi, 2015 | |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Yemen |
| Branch/service |  Yemen Army |
| Years of service | 1991–2015 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Unit | 3rd Armored Brigade, RG |
| Commands |  Yemeni Republican Guard |
| Battles/wars | |
Ali Raymi (born Ali Ibrahim Ali Al-Raimi; Arabic: علي الريمي; 7 December 1973 – 23 May 2015)[6][7] was a Yemeni professional boxer and military officer. In boxing he is best known for his fight record of 25 wins and no losses, with all 25 wins by knockout; 22 in the first round.[8] On 11 November 2013, he set a new world record by winning his first 20 professional fights by first-round knockout. In 2014, he won the International Boxing Institute (IBI) minimumweight title when he beat Prince Maz. Also that year, he won the Universal Boxing Organization (UBO) World Junior Flyweight title.[9][10]
Raymi lived in Mecca, Saudi Arabia prior to 1991. He was killed in action by an explosion, possibly from a Qatari airstrike on Yemeni Republican Guard positions during the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in the Yemeni Civil War, on 23 May 2015 in Sana'a.[11] He was ranked No. 6 by the World Boxing Association (WBA) at 108 pounds and No. 8 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO) at 105 pounds at the time of his death.[12]
Raymi won a gold medal in Algeria for the Yemeni military, representing the amateur boxing team, his purported amateur record was 117–2, all by way of knockout, although there is no proof of this record.[13] Stories of Raymi's life including his military career were released by his manager Felix J Arno[14] in an interview with The Ring magazine managing editor Brian Harty.[15]
Yemeni News archives[16][17] show Raymi started boxing at the age of 30 representing the Yemeni military, compiling an amateur record of 117-2, winning all 117 by KO which many believe to be embellished.[18] He was a Yemeni amateur champion in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.[16][17] It was during this time that Raymi started breaking Yemeni cultural norms by challenging foreign fighters, and participating in private unsanctioned fights for the next three years. Raymi grew to have a reputation in Sana'a as a loose cannon.[19]
On 11 November 2013, he set a new world record by winning his first 20 professional fights by first-round knockout.[20]
Prince Maz was the first fighter [21] to extend Ali Raymi outside the first round,[22] repeating the feat in three out of four encounters
Raymi, a Colonel in the Yemeni Anti-Terrorism forces, was killed in an explosion in 23 May 2015. [23]
In December 2013, Raymi was ranked in the top ten by two major boxing sanctioning bodies:[1][24] seventh by the WBO[25] and ninth by the WBC.[26] Additionally, the IBO had ranked him number one in August 2014, while the WBO improved his ranking to sixth in January 2015,[27] as did the WBA in May 2015.[28] Raymi also offered $100,000 to then-WBA and IBO strawweight champion Hekkie Budler for a fight in Yemen.[29] The WBA ranked Raymi as #6 light flyweight in April 2015 [30] and only dropped him five ranking spots to eleventh place when he died.
Dan Rafael, senior boxing writer at ESPN, criticized the organization for the "utterly and absolutely indefensible" ranking situation. He explained, commenting that Raymi's record was "hollow... considering he fought absolutely nobody of remote recognition or accomplishment as he fashioned that glittering but meaningless mark..."[31]
| 25 fights | 25 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 25 | 0 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Win | 25–0 | Omar Moxamad | KO | 1 (12), 0:46 | 28 Mar 2015 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 24 | Win | 24–0 | Prince Maz | TKO | 2 (12), 0:27 | 19 Nov 2014 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | Won IBI and UBO light-flyweight titles |
| 23 | Win | 23–0 | Prince Maz | RTD | 9 (12), 3:00 | 16 Oct 2014 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | Won IBI minimumweight title |
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Prince Maz | TKO | 7 (12), 1:55 | 30 Aug 2014 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Prince Maz | RTD | 1 (12), 2:55 | 17 Jul 2014 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Akram Jawfi | KO | 1 (12), 1:27 | 10 Nov 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Ali Salem | TKO | 1 (12), 1:02 | 5 Nov 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Mustafa Humaidi | KO | 1 (12), 0:47 | 1 Nov 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Omar Awdan | KO | 1 (12), 1:18 | 20 Oct 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Husam Shargabi | KO | 1 (12), 0:58 | 11 Oct 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Yasin Abdulkhalik | TKO | 1 (12), 2:05 | 7 Oct 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Asam Dolbhante | KO | 1 (12), 1:34 | 30 Sep 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Luke Hasan | KO | 1 (12), 0:26 | 27 Sep 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Ali Dridi | KO | 1 (4), 2:11 | 14 Jul 2013 | Yemen Boxing Federation Gym, Sana'a, Yemen | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Salman Umari | KO | 1 (4), 1:27 | 7 Jul 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Yaser Dalbant | KO | 1 (4), 1:50 | 4 Jul 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Ahmed Saeed | KO | 1 (4), 0:55 | 30 Jun 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Farhan Shebana | KO | 1 (4), 1:45 | 23 Jun 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Ahmed Yousifi | KO | 1 (4), 2:39 | 11 Jun 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Ahmad Ciso | KO | 1 (4), 0:55 | 30 May 2013 | 22 May Stadium, Aden, Yemen | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Amad Al-Gadsi | KO | 1 (4), 2:49 | 6 May 2013 | Yemen Boxing Federation Gym, Sana'a, Yemen | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Rashad Horun | KO | 1 (12), 1:12 | 11 Apr 2011 | Yemen Boxing Federation Gym, Sana'a, Yemen | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Sabin Juma | KO | 1 (12), 1:23 | 30 Mar 2011 | Yemen Boxing Federation Gym, Sana'a, Yemen | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Hamdan Jaber | KO | 1 (4), 0:41 | 5 Mar 2011 | Yemen Boxing Federation Gym, Sana'a, Yemen | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Hasan Wesabi | KO | 1 (4), 1:29 | 25 Jan 2011 | Yemen Boxing Federation Gym, Sana'a, Yemen |
