Artie Diamond (born abt 1929 Alt URL– February 1976) was a Jewish-American welterweight and middleweight boxer who fought professionally from 1949 to 1951. 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. 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.
Boxing career Diamond served in the Navy before moving to New York City where he was trained by Cus D'Amato, who later trained Floyd Patterson, José Torres, and Mike Tyson. As an amateur, Diamond fought 20 fights, winning 18 (15 by knock out).
Diamond turned pro in 1949. His boxing record was W24(16KO) and L9(4KO) and DRAW-0. He boxed 150 rounds and finished with a 48.48 KO%. 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.
Later life Later that year, Diamond and some friends decided to rob an armoured truck. Diamond was sentenced to 7.5–15 years 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. He got a month in solitary confinement for biting another inmate's ear.
After almost 8 years, Diamond was paroled and got a job as assistant trainer for conditioning for Jose Torres. However, Diamond got in trouble again for planning a payroll robbery. Diamond was sent to Green Haven prison where he was jumped by four inmates and was unconscious for several days. After his release, he got a job as head of security for a night club.
Death Diamond and his boss were shot by a stranger. He died aged 46 at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. Predeceased by his first wife Catherine, Artie was survived by his second wife and a daughter, Debbie.
Diamond was featured in Inside Sports in February 1982 in a 5-page article titled "Artie Diamond: The Toughest SOB Who Ever Lived".
Bouts Date Weight (lb) Opponent Weight (lb) Record Venue Result notes 28 December 1951 158¼ Jimmy Herring 158 45-9-2 Madison Square Garden L TKO Diamond was down in the 3rd, the bout was stopped by the ring doctor after he felt Diamond had taken a severe beating. 7 December 1951 158¾ Jimmy Herring 159 44-9-2 Madison Square Garden L points 17 November 1951 161 Bob Stecher 160 40-8-1 Ridgewood Grove W TKO 16 May 1951 161 Jimmy Herring 157½ 41-7-2 St. Nicholas Arena L points This was the main event. 1,497 were in attendance. 23 March 1951 159 Aldo Minelli 153 25-22-2 Madison Square Garden L points 23 February 1951 159½ Rocky Compitello 153¼ 16-4-0 Madison Square Garden W TKO 27 December 1950 160 Jimmy Flood 162½ 38-2-2 St. Nicholas Arena L TKO Diamond 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. 2 November 1950 158 Tommy Bazzano 153½ 35-27-6 Eastern Parkway Arena L TKO 21 October 1950 159 Armando Amanini 156¾ 7-13-1 Ridgewood Grove W KO 22 September 1950 158¾ Sonny Levitt 157½ 26-8-3 Madison Square Garden, W TKO 31 August 1950 157¾ Johnny Noel 156 7-4-0 Dexter Park Arena W SD 21 August 1950 155¾ Tommy Ciarlo 146½ 30-24-4 Coney Island Velodrome W UD 7 August 1950 155 Sammy LaRotta 153 14-5-1 Coney Island Velodrome W UD Unanimous 8th-round decision. 17 July 1950 154½ Joey Fernandez 154½ 8-6-4 Elizabeth, New Jersey W PTS Diamond awarded 6 of 8 rounds 26 June 1950 152½ Hurley Sanders 155 17-12-3 Ridgewood Grove W UD 12 June 1950 152¼ Tony Bove 146¾ 16-1-1 Ridgewood Grove W TKO Won in the 5th round. 20 May 1950 155¾ Eddie Edwards 154 18-8-1 Ridgewood Grove W PTS 6 May 1950 155¾ Eddie Edwards 154 18-7-1 Ridgewood Grove W PTS 15 April 1950 156½ Tommy Englehardt 155½ 17-5-2 Ridgewood Grove W PTS 1 April 1950 156¾ Ben Jones 156½ 10-15-1 Ridgewood Grove W TKO 18 March 1950 157 Kid Pambele 153½ 7-12-2 Ridgewood Grove W KO Knockout in the 1st of 6 rounds. 4 March 1950 156 Johnny Crosby 151 2-17-1 Ridgewood Grove W KO 23 February 1950 156 James Suber 151½ 6-12-2 Sunnyside Garden W KO 16 February 1950 155½ Gordon Hunt 157 0-1-0 Broadway Arena W KO 11 February 1950 157½ Louis Johnson 154½ 1-1-0 Ridgewood Grove W KO 6 February 1950 150 Jimmy DeCerio 151 8-8-4 Eastern Parkway Arena W KO 29 December 1949 154½ Mike Santonino 156 17-11-1 Broadway Arena W KO Middleweight match. 15 December 1949 151 Sammy LaRotta 149 11-3-1 Broadway Arena L points 28 November 1949 151½ Frankie Navedo 144½ 1-8-0 Jamaica Arena W KO 27 October 1949 159½ Tony Bove 145¾ 9-0-1 Broadway Arena L TKO 15 September 1949 147 Vince Martinez 147 8-0-0 Fort Hamilton Arena L points 2 September 1949 146 Engel Cordova 148½ Long Beach Stadium W KO 21 July 1949 147½ Joe Esposito 145½ 1-0-1 Fort Hamilton Arena W KO Knockout 2:23 minutes into the first of four rounds.
References