Artie Diamond

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Artie Diamond (born abt 1929 [1] - February 1976 [2] ) was a Jewish [3] [4] -American welterweight and middleweight boxer who fought professionally from 1949 to 1951. [1] Diamond turned pro in 1949 when he was 20 and fought for a little over a year before retiring in 1951 with a 24-9 record. [1] After retiring, he got in trouble with the law and was sentenced to 7.5-15 years for armed robbery. After he got out, he worked for a time as an assistant trainer to José Torres before he was jailed again. Diamond later worked as a security guard and was killed when he and a night club owner were shot by a stranger.

Contents

Boxing career

Diamond served in the Navy before moving to New York City where he was trained by Cus D'Amato, [1] who later trained Floyd Patterson, José Torres, and Mike Tyson. [1] As an amateur, Diamond fought 20 fights, winning 18 (15 by knock out). [1]

Diamond turned pro in 1949. [1] His boxing record was W24(16KO) and L9(4KO) and DRAW-0. He boxed 150 rounds and finished with a 48.48 KO%. [5] He was known for never ducking a punch. In fact, D'Amato was so concerned that Diamond took too many punches that Diamond was forced to retire in 1951. [1] [2] [3]

Later life

Later that year, Diamond and some friends decided to rob a armoured truck. [1] Diamond was sentenced to 7.5-15 years [1] and spent time in Clinton Correctional Facility in New York for shooting a guard during the robbery. His first day in Clinton, he beat up all the boss heads including one fight where he bit off another inmate's ear. [6] He got a month in solitary confinement for biting another inmate's ear. [1] [2] [3]

After almost 8 years, Diamond was paroled and got a job as assistant trainer for conditioning for Jose Torres. [1] However, Diamond got in trouble again for planning a payroll robbery. [1] Diamond was sent to Green Haven prison where he was jumped by four inmates and was unconscious for several days. [1] After his release, he got a job as head of security for a night club. [1]

Death

Diamond and his boss were shot by a stranger. [1] He died aged 46 at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Predeceased by his first wife, Artie was survived by his second wife and a daughter.

Diamond was featured in Inside Sports in February 1982 in a 5-page article titled "Artie Diamond: The Toughest SOB Who Ever Lived". [6]

Bouts

Date [5] Weight (lb)OpponentWeight (lb)RecordVenueResultnotes
28 December 1951158¼Jimmy Herring15845-9-2 Madison Square Garden L TKODiamond was down in the 3rd, the bout was stopped by the ring doctor after he felt Diamond had taken a severe beating.
7 December 1951158¾Jimmy Herring15944-9-2 Madison Square Garden L points
17 November 1951161Bob Stecher16040-8-1Ridgewood GroveW TKO
16 May 1951 [7] 161Jimmy Herring [7] 157½41-7-2 St. Nicholas Arena [7] L pointsThis was the main event. 1,497 were in attendance. [8]
23 March 1951159Aldo Minelli15325-22-2 Madison Square Garden L points
23 February 1951159½Rocky Compitello153¼16-4-0 Madison Square Garden W TKO
27 December 1950 [9] 160Jimmy Flood [9] 162½38-2-2 St. Nicholas Arena [9] L TKODiamond was ahead on points in a vicious slugging match, when the fight was stopped in round 8 because of a bad cut over Diamond's right eye. [10] [11]
2 November 1950158Tommy Bazzano153½35-27-6 Eastern Parkway Arena L TKO
21 October 1950159Armando Amanini156¾7-13-1Ridgewood GroveW KO
22 September 1950158¾Sonny Levitt157½26-8-3 Madison Square Garden,W TKO
31 August 1950157¾Johnny Noel1567-4-0Dexter Park ArenaW SD
21 August 1950155¾Tommy Ciarlo146½30-24-4 Coney Island Velodrome W UD
7 August 1950155Sammy LaRotta15314-5-1 Coney Island Velodrome W UDUnanimous 8th round decision. [12]
17 July 1950154½Joey Fernandez154½8-6-4Elizabeth, New JerseyW PTSDiamond awarded 6 of 8 rounds [13]
26 June 1950152½Hurley Sanders15517-12-3Ridgewood GroveW UD
12 June 1950152¼Tony Bove146¾16-1-1Ridgewood GroveW TKOWon in the 5th round. [14]
20 May 1950155¾Eddie Edwards15418-8-1Ridgewood GroveW PTS
6 May 1950155¾Eddie Edwards15418-7-1Ridgewood GroveW PTS
15 April 1950156½Tommy Englehardt155½17-5-2Ridgewood GroveW PTS
1 April 1950156¾Ben Jones156½10-15-1Ridgewood GroveW TKO
18 March 1950157Kid Pambele153½7-12-2Ridgewood GroveW KOKnockout in the 1st of 6 rounds. [15]
4 March 1950156Johnny Crosby1512-17-1Ridgewood GroveW KO
23 February 1950156James Suber151½6-12-2Sunnyside GardenW KO
16 February 1950155½Gordon Hunt1570-1-0Broadway ArenaW KO
11 February 1950157½Louis Johnson154½1-1-0 Ridgewood Grove W KO
6 February 1950150Jimmy DeCerio1518-8-4 Eastern Parkway Arena W KO
29 December 1949154½Mike Santonino15617-11-1Broadway ArenaW KOMiddleweight match. [16]
15 December 1949151Sammy LaRotta14911-3-1Broadway ArenaL points
28 November 1949151½Frankie Navedo144½1-8-0Jamaica ArenaW KO
27 October 1949159½Tony Bove145¾9-0-1Broadway ArenaL TKO
15 September 1949147Vince Martinez1478-0-0Fort Hamilton ArenaL points
2 September 1949146Engel Cordova148½Long Beach StadiumW KO
21 July 1949147½Joe Esposito145½1-0-1Fort Hamilton ArenaW KOKnockout 2:23 minutes into the first of four rounds. [17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "The Legend of Artie Diamond". Sun-Herald. Sydney, Australia. Inside Sports. 14 March 1982. p. 96. Archived from the original on 2011-12-31. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Zotti, Robert (2015). "Diamond's Fearless Heart". The Proper Pugilist. Xlibris. ISBN   978-1-5144-1706-5.
  3. 1 2 3 Tyson, Mike (2017). Iron Ambition: Lessons I've Learned from the Man Who Made Me a Champion. London, England: Sphere. p. 61. ISBN   978-0-7515-5961-3.
  4. ↑ Silver, Mike (2016). Stars in the Ring: Jewish Champions in the Golden Age of Boxing. Lyons Press. p. 272. ISBN   978-1-63076-139-4.
  5. 1 2 "Boxing record: Artie Diamond". BoxRec. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  6. 1 2 Torres, Jose Chegui (February 1982). "Artie Diamond: The Toughest SOB Who Ever Lived". Inside Sports (Swimsuit edition). Illustrated by Alan E. Cober.
  7. 1 2 3 "Jimmie Herring vs Artie Diamond Blue Ribbon" . Atlanta Daily World. 22 May 1951. p. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  8. ↑ "Herring outpoints Diamond in 8 rounds". The New York Times. 17 May 1951. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  9. 1 2 3 "This and That: New York's St Nicholas Arena" . The Buffalo News. 27 Dec 1950. p. 29.
  10. ↑ "Flood TKO Victor over Artie Diamond" . The Herald-News. 28 Dec 1950.
  11. ↑ Dawson, James P. (28 December 1950). "Flood knocks out Diamond in the eighth; Behind on Points, He Wins as Doctor Intervenes Because of Cut Over Rival's Eye". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2018-07-23.
  12. ↑ "Belleville's LaRotta Bows to Artie Diamond" . The Herald-News. Passaic, New Jersey. 8 Aug 1950. p. 18.
  13. ↑ "DeFazio Rallies to Gain Decision" . The Bayonne Times. 18 Jul 1950. p. 8. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  14. ↑ "Artie Diamond Stops Tony Bove". Staten Island Advance. 13 June 1950. p. 17. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  15. ↑ "Artie Diamond Stops Kid Pambele in First" . Press of Atlantic City. 19 March 1950. p. 14. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  16. ↑ "Heavies to Box" . Daily News. New York City, New York. 29 Dec 1949. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  17. ↑ "Miceli Comes Out on Top in Alvarez Feud" . Sports. Brooklyn Eagle. 22 Jul 1949. p. 9. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
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