By Gav Duthie: If we needed any further confirmation of the state of Asian boxing after Thailand’s Sod Kokietgym 63-3-1 (28) pathetic attempt to dethrone Guillermo Rigondeaux 14-0 (9) then look no further than Yemenis Minimumweight Ali Raymi 21-0 (21).
Raymi who’s alias is simply ‘God’ has broken the record for consecutive first round knockouts as he has won all 21 of his bouts in the opening round. Furthermore when looking at his record every fighter he has faced so far has been undefeated before facing the 40 year old God.
Ambition
Raymi claims he is only interested in real championships WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and once he has won those he fancies jumping 5 divisions to face Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux. In his only interview to date he told ‘Fight News’ that he is first targeting WBO champion Merlito Sabillo 23-1-1 (12) who has since lost his title to Francisco Rodriguez 14-2 (10).
Raymi speaks excellent English and is also very active on twitter making chilling claims like:
“If beating me was possible I would have died long ago”.
He has described his chin as Titanium and his fists as Uranium as he targets the WBO belt against Rodriguez Jnr (Ironically nicknamed Titanium) before world boxing domination.
Fighting Style
It all sounds pretty good so far right? Well check him out on YouTube. All his fights have been in Yemen in what looks like a school sports hall in a ring made by spare parts from a trampoline. He comes flying out windmilling shots pretty much only to the body with absolutely no jab or technical defence whatsoever until his opponent falls down. The worst part of it all is the recognition he is getting (I get the irony of writing an article about him). Its not a problem if your ambition is to be the best boxer in Yemen fighting your mates for a laugh but the WBO is actually recognizing these contests and has him rated at #12.
The Record
Previously the knockout record belonged to another currently active American Light Middleweight boxer named Tyron Brunson who stopped his first 19 opponents in round 1 between 2005 and 2008. The “devastating” Brunson has went on to draw once and lose twice including a stoppage defeat to B-Level fighter Carson Jones.
To be fair Raymi does have a degree of modesty as he says his record means nothing as he knows the standard of boxers in his country are awful but he still backs his ability to dominate. Will he face the same demise as he steps up in class like Brunson? Most likely.
The Future
At 40 years old and weighing only 105 lbs history tells us that he won’t have a long future in the sport. He has fought only once this year. I am hoping before he finishes up a clever promoter puts an end to this farce by giving him a title shot and getting him knocked out in the first round before boxing endures anymore of these embarrassing contenders.
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