| Ali Raymi | |
| Realname: | Ali Ibrahim Ali Al-Raimi |
| Nickname: | |
| Weight: | |
| Reach: | 68 in |
| Nationality: | Yemeni, Saudi |
| Birth Date: | 7 December 1973 |
| Birth Place: | Mecca, Saudi Arabia |
| Death Place: | Sana'a, Yemen |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 25 |
| Wins: | 25 |
| Ko: | 25 |
| Allegiance: |  Yemen |
| Serviceyears: | 1991–2015 |
| Rank: | Colonel |
| Unit: | 3rd Armored Brigade, RG |
| Commands: | Reserve Forces |
| Branch: | Yemen Republican Guard--> |
| Branch: | Yemen Army |
| Battles: |
|
Ali Raymi (born Ali Ibrahim Ali Al-Raimi; Arabic: علي الريمي; 7 December 1973 – 23 May 2015)[6] [7] was a Saudi born Yemeni colonel and professional boxer. 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]
Raymi lived in Mecca prior to 1991. He died in an explosion, possibly a Qatari airstrike on the Republican Guard positions in Al-Nahdeen district, on 23 May 2015 in Sana'a, aged 41.[9]
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.[10] Stories of Raymi's life including his military career were released by his manager Felix J Arno[11] in an interview with The Ring magazine managing editor Brian Harty.[12]
Yemeni News archives[13] [14] 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.[15] He was a Yemeni amateur champion in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.[13] [14] 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.[16]
On 11 November 2013, he set a new world record by winning his first 20 professional fights by first-round knockout.[17]
Prince Maz was the first fighter [18] to extend Ali Raymi outside the first round,[19] 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. [20]
In December 2013, Raymi was ranked in the top ten by two major boxing sanctioning bodies:[1] [21] seventh by the WBO[22] and ninth by the WBC.[23] Additionally, the IBO had ranked him number one in August 2014, while the WBO improved his ranking to sixth in January 2015,[24] as did the WBA in May 2015.[25] Raymi also offered $100,000 to then-WBA and IBO strawweight champion Hekkie Budler for a fight in Yemen.[26] The WBA ranked Raymi as #6 light flyweight in April 2015 [27] 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..."[28]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Win | 25–0 | Omar Moxamad | KO | 1 (12), | 28 Mar 2015 | ||
| 24 | Win | 24–0 | Prince Maz | TKO | 2 (12), | 19 Nov 2014 | ||
| 23 | Win | 23–0 | Prince Maz | RTD | 9 (12), | 16 Oct 2014 | ||
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Prince Maz | TKO | 7 (12), | 30 Aug 2014 | ||
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Prince Maz | 1 (12), | 17 Jul 2014 | |||
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Akram Jawfi | KO | 1 (12), | 10 Nov 2013 | ||
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Ali Salem | TKO | 1 (12), | 5 Nov 2013 | ||
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Mustafa Humaidi | KO | 1 (12), | 1 Nov 2013 | ||
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Omar Awdan | KO | 1 (12), | 20 Oct 2013 | ||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Husam Shargabi | KO | 1 (12), | 11 Oct 2013 | ||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Yasin Abdulkhalik | 1 (12), | 7 Oct 2013 | |||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Asam Dolbhante | KO | 1 (12), | 30 Sep 2013 | ||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Luke Hasan | KO | 1 (12), | 27 Sep 2013 | ||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Ali Dridi | KO | 1 (4), | 14 Jul 2013 | ||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Salman Umari | KO | 1 (4), | 7 Jul 2013 | ||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Yaser Dalbant | KO | 1 (4), | 4 Jul 2013 | ||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Ahmed Saeed | KO | 1 (4), | 30 Jun 2013 | ||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Farhan Shebana | KO | 1 (4), | 23 Jun 2013 | ||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Ahmed Yousifi | KO | 1 (4), | 11 Jun 2013 | ||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Ahmad Ciso | KO | 1 (4), | 30 May 2013 | ||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Amad Al-Gadsi | KO | 1 (4), | 6 May 2013 | ||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Rashad Horun | KO | 1 (12), | 11 Apr 2011 | ||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Sabin Juma | KO | 1 (12), | 30 Mar 2011 | ||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Hamdan Jaber | KO | 1 (4), | 5 Mar 2011 | ||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Hasan Wesabi | 1 (4), | 25 Jan 2011 |