• "KID DIAMOND"
• Age: 31 (2-18-77)
• Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada
• Birthplace: Bishkek, Kyrgystan
• Record: 26-1-1, 15 KOs
• Height: 5'7"
• Reach: 68"
• Manager: Garnik Khachikian
• Advisor: Cameron Dunkin
• Trainer: Miguel Diaz

KID DIAMOND" Almazbek Raiymkulov (26-1-1, 15 KOs)...

Ranked WBC #21 at 135 pounds...

Former NABF lightweight champion...

2000 Olympic representative for Kyrgystan, 132 pounds...

At the age of 31, Diamond is a seven-year pro. A contender at 135 pounds, he has an aggressive style and good punching power, and always makes exciting fights. A native of Kyrgystan, his real name is Almazbek Raiymkulov - Almaz [pr. ALL-muz] for short.

He has won six fights in a row since his only loss in October, 2005, against Nate Campbell and climbed back into the world Top-10 rankings.

Diamond has given several sensational performances, including one in January, 2007, in which he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Emmanuel Augustus.

After the fight, Fightwriter.com's Graham Houston reported, "Almazbek Raiymkulov (aka Kid Diamond) looked the part of a serious lightweight title contender in winning a one-sided decision over the battle-tested veteran.... Actually, Raiymkulov has never looked better. He used the jab, punched in combinations and banged to the body.

"I do not think that Augustus has ever been as utterly outclassed as he was here, floored, outclassed and beaten up, with two of the judges scoring 100-89 and the other judge making it 99-91 in Raiymkulov's favour.

"They say a fighter can actually become a better one after a defeat because he redoubles his efforts, avoids doing those things that can compromise his chances of winning - and also because losing was such an unpleasant experience. Raiymkulov seems to have come back a better fighter after his humiliating defeat against Nate Campbell. We always knew that he was strong and could hit but I do not think he has ever shown the hand speed and variety of punching that he did against Augustus."

Regarding his nickname, Almaz said, "My name, Almazbek, means 'rough diamond.' So that's why Mr. Arum, he asked me like, "'What your name mean?' I say, 'Rough diamond.' He say, 'Okay, let me call you Kid Diamond.' After that, everyone start calling me Kid Diamond. I'm like, 'Okay, why not?' But I was thinking, 'Too soft. For a fighter like me, too soft that name.' Better name like Hammer, or something like Geronimo, or some dangerous name."

Fight by Fight - 2008 - in his last fight on 6-20-08 in Chicago, IL, he TKO'd Leo Martinez (13-11): Martinez was an awkward opponent; he injured his left shoulder in the 3rd round, and did not continue after the round; the Illinois commission records it as a TKO at 0:01 of the 4th round...

2007 - on 6-14-07 in Rochester, NY, he won a 10 round split decision against Miguel Huerta (24-7-1): it was an exciting fight - both gave tremendous efforts but a very controversial decision; Diamond kept a fast pace, but Huerta switched between the righthanded and lefthanded stances effectively and consistently landed the sharper punches; Huerta scored a knockdown with a straight left hand in the 11th round, and nearly all observers thought he deserved to win, but the judges scored scored 114-113, 114-113 Diamond, 116-111 Huerta...

On 1-11-07 in Philadelphia, PA, he won a 10 round decision against late substitute Emanuel Augustus (34-27-6): the bout headlined at the New Alhambra; Augustus took the fight on two days' notice when originally scheduled Antonio Pitalua withdrew; Diamond dominated the fight - he pressed forward, consistently outworked Augustus, and landed the harder punches; Diamond scored a knockdown with a series of punches in the 9th round and bloodied augustus' nose; scored 100-89, 100-89, 99-91...

2006 - WON NABF INTERIM L TITLE - on 9-14-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKO'd Jairo Ramirez (20-2): Ramirez gave a good effort, but Diamond quickly overpowered him; Diamond scored a knockdown with a right uppercut that put Ramirez flat on his back in the 2nd round, and scored another knockdown with a right hand in the 3rd; Diamond scored a third knockdown with a right hand that dropped Ramirez to one knee and cut him over his left eye in the 7th round - Ramirez' corner signalled the finish, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:25; after the fight, Diamond said, "I give him credit, he's a strong fighter. Only thing, he does not have much experience like I do. I was just getting warmed up, but it's a good experience for me."...

On 7-27-06 in Uncasville, CT, he TKO'd Antonio Wong (11-5-1): Diamond gave an impressive performance and dominated the fight; he scored a knockdown with a left hook to the body in the 4th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:37...

On 2-18-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he won by disqualification against Jose Quintana (12-10-2): Diamond dominated the fight; Quintana repeatedly landed low blows, and the referee DQ'ed him at 1:43 of the 3rd round...

2005 - on 10-1-05 in Tampa, FL, he was TKO'd against former world title challenger Nate Campbell (26-4-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Antonio Tarver-Roy Jones Jr. main event at the St. Petersburg Times Forum that drew an announced crowd of 20,895; Campbell dominated most of the fight - he consistently made Diamond miss, scored with hard right hands, and scored two knockdowns in the 5th round; Campbell bloodied Diamond's mouth and wore him down with body punches, then scored another knockdown in the 10th round and the referee stopped the fight at 2:26; after nine rounds, Campbell led by scores of 90-79, 88-81, 87-82...

WBA L WORLD TITLE ELIMINATION BOUT - on 6-11-05 in New York, NY, he fought to a 12 round draw against former WBA super featherweight world champion Joel Casamayor (31-3): the fight was the co-featured bout with the Miguel Cotto-Muhammad Abdulaev main event at Madison Square Garden, which drew an announced crowd of 10,231; it was a big step up in class for Diamond, and oddsmakers had Casamayor as a 7-5 favorite; Casamayor started fast - he knocked down Diamond in the 1st round and cut him over the right eye, but Diamond came back, constantly pressed forward and landed the harder punches; Diamond rocked Casamayor in the 8th round and again in the 9th, and both fighters went all-out in the final round - Diamond staggered Casamayor with a right hand in the closing seconds; scored 116-111 Diamond, 115-112 Casamayor, 114-114; Casamayor recently won the WBC lightweight world title...

On 3-4-05 in Choctaw, MS, he TKO'd previously undefeated southpaw prospect Koba Gogoladze (17-0): Gogoladze, a 1996 Olympic representative for the Republic of Georgia, started fast - he frustrated Diamond with constant movement and was the more accurate puncher; but Diamond constantly pressed forward and wore him down; Diamond scored a knockdown late in the 4th round, then rocked Gogoladze just before the bell; Diamond scored another knockdown early in the 5th round, and a third knockdown late in the 6th - Gogoladze got up but did not want to continue, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:46...

2004 - on 11-27-04 in Las Vegas he knocked out former two-time world title challenger Lamar Murphy (29-9-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Erik Morales-Marco Antonio Barrera III main event, and it was a spectacular knockout; Diamond scored one knockdown in the 3rd round; he scored another knockdown with a right hand in the 5th, and Murphy was counted out at 2:02...

On 9-18-04 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Jose Soto-Karrass (19-7): the fight was on the undercard of the Bernard Hopkins-Oscar De La Hoya main event; Diamond was very impressive, and Soto-Karrass did not continue after the 2nd round...

On 7-31-04 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Ricardo Fuentes (17-2): at 1:59 of the 1st round...

On 6-5-04 in Las Vegas he knocked out previously undefeated former Ghanian Olympian Raymond Narh (10-0): Diamond pressed forward and scored a knockdown in the 1st round with a right hand that put Narh flat on his back; the referee stopped the fight without a count at 2:52...

On 3-13-04 in Las Vegas he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Luis Lizarraga (31-29-4), scored 60-53, 60-53, 59-54...

2003 - on 11-13-03 in Glen Burnie, MD, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against southpaw Pascali Adorno (7-2-2), scored 78-74 on all three scorecards...

On 11-1-03 in Las Vegas he knocked out Rafael Ortiz (8-7) at 2:27 of the 1st round...

On 9-12-03 in Las Vegas he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Juan Macias (27-18-2), scored 60-54 on all three scorecards...

On 3-28-03 in Las Vegas, NV, he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Sergio Soto (11-7-1): Diamond consistently outworked Soto, and Soto was cut over the right eye by a clash of heads in the 5th round; scored 78-74, 78-74, 78-73; after the fight, Almazbek said, "For seven months no fight, it was not good, not bad. Next fight, I will do much better."...

2002 - on 7-13-02 in Warren, OH, he knocked out Douglas Villareal (27-9-1): Diamond scored a knockdown in the 2nd round, and Villareal was counted out at 2:47; after the fight, Diamond said, "My opponent has a lot of experience as a professional. I'll be ready for title shot. I like professional boxing. I like United States."...

On 5-11-02 in Biloxi, MS, he TKO'd Alan O'Quinn (5-4-2): in the 1st round...

On 4-27-02 in Oklahoma City, OK, he TKO'd Oscar Rosales (2-1-1): in the 5th round...

On 4-12-02 in Las Vegas he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Martin Ramirez (6-11): Diamond scored a knockdown in the

1st round and dominated the fight; scored 60-53, 60-53, 60-52...

2001 - on 11-9-01 in Palm Springs, CA, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Adam Gonzalez (8-5): Almazbek scored five knockdowns in the fight, and won by scores of 60-49 on all three scorecards...

On 8-24-01 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Michael Jamison (10-3): at 0:42 of the 2nd round...

On 7-13-01 in Palm Springs he won a 6 round decision against Anthony Ojomo (1-3-4)...

On 6-5-01 in Las Vegas he TKO'd Jorge Casas (debut): at 1:51 of the 2nd round...

On 5-18-01 in Las Vegas he won a 4 round unanimous decision against Torrance Brown (3-10), scored 40-36, 40-36, 40-35...

He debuted at the age of 24 on 4-27-01 in Las Vegas and TKO'd Adriano Dos Santos (5-5-1) at 0:39 of the 3rd round...

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: 2000 Olympic representative for Kyrgystan, 132 pounds: in his first fight on 9-17-00 in Sydney, Australia, he won a 15-4 decision against Tumentseteg Uitumen of Mongolia; in his second fight on 9-22-00 he won a 12-2 decision against Jose Cruz of Colombia; in his third fight on 9-26-00 he lost a 14-12 decision against Cristian Bejarano of Mexico...

Almazbek said, "I was born in Bishkek, Kyrgystan. I have two brothers and three sisters. I'm the youngest one. My father is a doctor, he's a surgery doctor. My mom same thing, doctors. My older brother is investigator, lawyer investigator. My second brother was ultimate fighter champion in Europe.

"In high school, I was smallest one. So, to protect yourself, you have to have some power. I played basketball two years just to get taller. Then nothing is happened, I say to myself, 'Ah, I have to do something else.' I went to wrestling. I been one year in wrestling, I get tired of this, you know, sniffing guys, hugging each other. I'm like, 'This is not good. I don't like it.' I went to running. Speed running, track. I was doing six months really good, but the guys start laughing, 'Who you going to run from?'' I'm just like, 'OK.'

"I just quit that and finally went to boxing, and I liked it. I was 14 years old. I start training, but I was hiding from my parents, especially from my mom. She doesn't like no sport, because she was telling me, 'You going to be doctor. No doctors in our family. You youngest son, you have to be doctor.' I used to study really good. I used to hide going to training, come back, lie to parents, lie to mom. Say, 'I went to college. I went to library.' In one year, she find out. She found my boxing trophy, and she start asking my brothers. My brothers, they used to know, but they covering me, you know, like, 'Oh, that's mine.' But it said, 'Boxing, 118 pounds.' My mom would say, 'Look at yourself.' I just get permission from my dad. I say, 'Listen, I like this sport. I don't want to stop.' He's just like, 'OK.'

"I have 300 amateur fights. I win 280, and 20 loss. From 20 loss, 10 loss they just rob me.

"I finished university. I'm a lawyer investigator. I speak five languages. Russian, my own language, Kyrgys, German, English, and Turkish.

"I moved straight to Las Vegas from Kyrgystan. I was just thinking, 'Maybe I just quit boxing, and I just do my business. There is no future in boxing.' Back home, there is not much good stuff, professional stuff. And then, they offer me here. They were trying to offer me from Germany. Then I said to myself, 'OK, why not? I believe myself. I have good heart, brave heart. I can do it.

"I'm single. If I am going to marry, I'm just for all my life. Until I die."...

STRENGTHS: Has an aggressive style, good skills and punching power...physically strong with natural athletic ability...very tough, durable, and determined...had a strong amateur background...

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 28 fights...141 total rounds...

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 5 rounds...

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 57 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds - 1 (0-0-1)...10 rounds - 3 (2-1)...8 rounds - 2 (2-0)...