The last time Joey Alday Jr. made the professional journey inside a boxing ring was more than four years ago.
Over the course of the last four years, Alday has been on a personal journey.
Alday has witnessed the births of his two daughters, got married and watched his son, Joey Alday III (also known as LJ), grow into a spitting image of himself.
The personal journey over the last four years is an experience Alday said he would never change.
“I won’t trade any of the journey for a different one,” Alday said prior his workout on Friday night at the Gorilla Heavy Hitters Boxing Gym in Odessa. “I believe the journey and the path that we are set on is the journey that God gives to us.
“It’s my own path. Sometimes we make exits and sometimes we get put back on the journey. That’s where I’m at. I exited off. I took some time. I rested up and now I’m back on the journey. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This is the path that I’m taking to the end of the destination.”
As for his professional journey, the 28-year-old Odessa native is scheduled to make his return to the ring on Saturday at the Maya Indoor Complex in Houston.
BoxRec shows that Alday, who holds an 8-1 professional record with seven knockouts, is set to face undefeated Bruno Pola Ruiz at super middleweight as of Tuesday afternoon.
This will be Alday’s first bout at super middleweight (168 pounds). He previously fought professionally at middleweight (154 pounds).
Regardless of the extended hiatus from professional boxing, Alday said he’s always been nervous before a bout.
“I always get nervous, no matter what,” he said. “It’s a nervous feeling going in there and risking your life. I have a couple of buddies that never made it out of the ring. … The nerves are always there.
“I don’t know what it is but this time I’m more confident than ever in myself. I think it’s the desire and want to do it is completely different. I did it for so long before and that it was just another day. This time it feels personal.”
THE DEPARTURE
When Alday decided to step away from professional boxing after his knockout loss to Christian Aguirre on Oct. 11, 2018, he said a common question that he was asked early on was if he would ever come back.
Alday said he would adamantly say “No.”
The decision to leave boxing hit Alday’s father (Joe Alday Sr.) hard as he served as his son’s lead trainer.
“I was a little hurt, but at the end of the day, it’s his decision,” Alday Sr. said.
Alday Jr. said the time away from the ring helped him grow mentally, physically and emotionally.
The Odessa native said it was tough being away from his family for months at a time training in California and he was only be able to come home for a week before leaving again. Alday Jr. said most of his parenting at that time was done through FaceTime.
“I matured quite a bit,” Alday Jr. said. “My mind is just in a different space.”
Alday Sr. said after his son left boxing he continued to help Ramon Franco at the Odessa Boxing Club, but he said he never received the same butterflies when he would walk with other boxers to the ring.
“For the whole time he was away, I was still coaching,” Alday Sr. said. “It’s just something that I love to do. I’ve been coaching for almost 20 years. It feels good to be back with him. I missed it when he was gone. It hurt my heart.”
WEIGHT AND RETURN
As time progressed, Alday Jr., who had thought of boxing as a business, had his passion reignited while he was separated from the sport. That fire also constantly fanned as LJ would play highlight videos of his dad on YouTube and mimic the movements he saw on the screen.
Alday Jr. started to contemplate about getting in the ring.
However, there was one problem. Alday Jr. weighed 220 pounds, which was about an extra 40 pounds from his walking weight four years earlier. That weight started to shed quickly and as of Friday evening Alday said he hovers around 170 pounds.
”The weight has continued to drop and drop and drop,” Alday Jr. said. “I’m two or three pounds away from weight already, so there will be no problem hitting weight.”
Alday Sr. said he remembers the conversation they had about getting back into the ring. The main point that Alday Sr. said he wanted to convey to his son is that if he wants to get back into the ring to do it before he gets too old.
The difference from his 24-year-old son to his 28-year-old son that Alday Sr. says he sees is that his son has grown man strength now.
“I told him that I regretted quitting boxing at a young age,” Alday Sr. said. “I got to the point where I wanted to do something about it, but I was too old. I told him if you are going to come back someday don’t wait too long.
“He’s gotten really strong.”
FUTURE IN BOXING
With his hands wrapped and shadow boxing in the ring as a warm up, Alday Jr. is mentally preparing for his first bout in four years.
Alday Jr.’s opponent Ruiz has a 5-0-1 record with his most recent bout being a draw on July 16. This will also be Ruiz’s first fight in the United States as his previous six professional bouts took place in Mexico.
As far as his future in professional boxing, Alday Jr. said his concentrating on one fight at a time and this upcoming Saturday is the only bout in his mind.
“We got this one and I’m not looking past it,” Alday Jr. said. “I’m making sure I put all 120% of me into this performance and then look to see what happens after that.”
Specators are also able to watch Alday Jr.’s road to his first fight on his YouTube channel Joey Alday. He also wanted to thank his sponsors Q Factor, Elite Pride Performance, Gorilla Heavy Hitters Boxing Gym, Stay Faded Barber Studio, Optimus Physical Therapy and Joe’s Water Well Service and Pump Repair.
