David Armstrong

David “Diamond D” Armstrong was an American boxer who competed principally at lightweight, later appearing at super-lightweight, welterweight and, during a belated comeback, middleweight. Born in Florida on 2 September 1969 and based in Cape Coral, he fought from an orthodox stance and finished with 20 wins, 13 defeats, and two draws from 35 contests, with 12 victories inside the distance. Armstrong spent his important years at or close to the 135-pound lightweight limit.

Armstrong possessed a substantial amateur background. Records credit him with 108 victories and seven defeats, two national silver medals, one national bronze medal and several Florida state and regional championships. He was regarded as naturally talented, physically strong for a lightweight and mentally durable, although his own camp acknowledged that he had not always applied himself fully during his amateur years.

He made his professional debut at the Crystal Palace in Nassau, Bahamas, on 23 November 1994, defeating Israel Brown over four rounds. Brown was considerably heavier, but Armstrong outboxed him and took every round. His introduction to professional boxing was not altogether encouraging, for he was reportedly not paid for the contest. Four months later he accepted a late assignment against Troy Crain in Pensacola. Armstrong controlled much of the bout before being dropped in the third round, then fell through loose ropes after another exchange and struck his head on a ringside table. The referee stopped the contest, giving Armstrong his first defeat.

The setback brought greater discipline. Armstrong defeated Rick LeBrun and Alexis Acosta, then took a six-round decision over the dangerous Cuban Reidel Chipi, flooring him in the opening round. A draw with Hilvin Florentino followed in December 1995. Armstrong had reportedly been ill before that contest, and the return in May 1996 was decisive. Despite suffering a severe cut over the left eye from a first-round clash of heads, he won all eight rounds on each official card. He also outpointed the unbeaten Jose Alfonso Rodriguez and stopped Lou Martinez in six, establishing himself as one of the more capable lightweights working from Florida.

His career accelerated during 1997. On 4 April he travelled to Glasgow to challenge Tanveer Ahmed for the WBO intercontinental lightweight title. Armstrong had never previously faced a southpaw or completed more than eight rounds, while Ahmed entered with a 15-1-1 record. Armstrong dropped him in the fourth and finished strongly, but the contest was declared a draw after 12 rounds. His camp considered the verdict unsatisfactory. Armstrong returned to Florida on 23 May and stopped Alexis Barcelay in the fourth round to win the NABU lightweight title. He then went to Stuttgart on 23 August and halted the previously unbeaten Thomas Seiler in the tenth round, securing the WBO intercontinental championship.

That victory led quickly to his only challenge for a major world title. Given four days’ notice, Armstrong returned to Germany to meet unbeaten WBO lightweight champion Artur Grigorian at the Stadthalle in Cottbus on 11 October 1997. Grigorian, an accomplished Uzbek southpaw trained by Fritz Sdunek, was making his fourth defence. Both men weighed 135½ pounds. Armstrong remained competitive and landed some of the heavier individual blows, but Grigorian’s balance, positioning and greater punch output carried most of the rounds. The champion retained his title by unanimous scores of 120-109, 119-110 and 117-111. Armstrong deserved credit for completing the distance under poor preparatory circumstances, but the decision itself was clear.

Armstrong rebuilt by stopping Billy Wooten in three rounds and Rudolfo Lunsford in nine. The latter victory, on 17 March 1998, brought him the National Boxing Association lightweight title, a lesser championship which did not carry the standing of the WBA, WBC, IBF or WBO crowns. He then travelled to Australia and lost a close ten-round decision to the experienced Lovemore Ndou. Later in 1998 he beat Chad Lawshe, Tomas Barrientes and Octavio Suarez during the Texas Miller Lite tournament before losing the final to Danny Rios. His increasingly demanding opposition included Billy Irwin, future IBF champion Steve Forbes and unbeaten Michael Stewart, all of whom defeated him.

There was another successful period in 2000 and 2001. After outpointing George Kellman, Armstrong knocked out Lemuel Nelson in the tenth round in Biloxi on 18 January 2001, winning the vacant NBA lightweight title and an IBO intercontinental belt. He stopped Benito Rodriguez in seven in his next contest. The improvement was not sustained against the leading contenders, however. Juan Lazcano stopped him in six rounds in September 2002 in a contest for the NABF and IBA lightweight titles. Miguel Callist halted him in two rounds the following March, and Andre Eason stopped him in five in January 2004.

Armstrong returned after more than five years away, losing over six rounds to Omri Lowther in June 2009 before stopping Ramon Guevara in four the following month. Another long absence followed. At 46, he reappeared against unbeaten Courtney Jackson in September 2016, losing a four-round contest at welterweight. His final appearance came in June 2017, when he was beaten over four rounds by Arnold Hill in a middleweight bout at Banquet Masters in Clearwater, Florida. The defeat closed a professional career spanning nearly 23 years.

Armstrong remained connected with SJC Boxing in Fort Myers, the gym and organisation most closely associated with his development. In 2022 he was inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame. His record contains more defeats than those of heavily protected contenders, but it must be read alongside the quality of his opposition and the circumstances of several assignments. He travelled to Britain, Germany and Australia, challenged a long-reigning WBO champion at four days’ notice and met men such as Grigorian, Ndou, Forbes, Lazcano and Callist. He was not a major world champion, but he was an accomplished amateur, a legitimate world-title challenger and a durable professional whose career was conducted with little protection.