The long and winding road for junior featherweight prospect Joshua Alvarado (3-1, 1 KO) has gone cross-country and he eventually landed in New Bedford, Massachusetts, a historic coastal city located 58 miles south of Boston known for its commercial fishing and strong Portuguese heritage.
The 25-year-old Alvarado, who is an electrician, returns to the ring on February 7th in a 4-round bout versus Michael Thornton (0-2) on a CES Boxing-promoted card at Park Theater in Cranston, Rhode Island.
Born in Orlando, Florida, Alvardo first moved to New Bedford at the age of 9 with his mother, who was in a car accident 3 years earlier that left her paralyzed from the waist down, Two years later. he started boxing because he lived in a rough neighborhood and as an “outsider,” he kept getting beat up by local kids. His mother made him go to a nearby gym and he eventually posted a 19-1 amateur record.
Alvardo’s journey, though, continued as he moved back to Orlando, where he lived with his father, and in 2022 he moved to Washington state, where most of his family lives. He enjoyed the experience, which included him becoming a licensed electrician, but after 1 ½ years there he got edgy and moved back to New Bedford, largely because there wasn’t a real boxing scene at the pro level.
Alvarado turned pro on August 6, 2021, in New Hampshire and like the great Bernard Hopkins, he lost his pro debut, by way of a 4-round unanimous decision to Dan Cormier. He has since reeled off 3 wins in a row, the most recent last June to Kevin Rodriguez (4-2) with a 4-round unanimous decision.
Alvardo had been training at a gym in nearby Fall River, owned and operated by boxer Chris Jacobs, which suddenly closed forcing Joshua to bounce from boxing gym to gym, along with places like Planet Fitness, sans a trainer, to workout, spar and connect with others.
New Bedford has been a boxing town, and it has produced the outstanding boxers such as “Sucra” Ray Oliveria (47-11-2, 22 KOs) and 1996 Olympic alternate Jason “School Boy” Pires (23-4-1, 9 KOs), both of whom Alvardo credits for their support and guidance.
Another New Bedford boxer and friend since Alvardo was 14, undefeated junior middleweight “Vicious” Anthony Vieira (11-0, 8 KOs), introduced Joshua to his trainers, David Keefe and Joshua Lemar and Bishop’s Boxing Gym in Brockton, known as the City of Champions, because Rocky Marciano and Marvelous Marvin Hagler fought out of that nearby blue-collar city, became his new gym.
“Me and Anthony are close friends,” Alvarado explained. “I used to go to Bishop’s gym to spar but I didn’t meet Dave there. I met Anthony’s trainer, Dave, last March 9th when I fought (his second pro fight) at Taunton High School. I didn’t know he was a really good trainer. He invited me to his gym to spar, Dave and Josh talked with me and said they liked what they saw and asked if I was looking for a new home (gym). I had talked to people at 2 other gyms, but I decided to work with Dave and Josh at Bishop’s.”
Inarguably one of the top boxing trainers in New England, Keefe has developed Demetrius Andrade (32-1, 19 KOs), the 2-division world champion and U.S. Olympian, 2008 U.S. Olympic Team alternate Danny O’Connor (31-3, 12 KOs), and Cuba-native Yoenli Hernandez (9-0, 8 KOs) to the current World Boxing Association No. 1 and Ring Magazine No. 2 middleweight rating positions.
“Dave is the type dude who sees talent,” Alvarado continued. “He can be strict at times and he instills motivation. He’s either talking, calling or texting me, because he wants perfection in his fighters. Lots of fighters never get an opportunity to be trained by somebody like Dave.”
“We are excited to see Josh’s progress in the gym on full display February 7th,” Keefe commented. “His fanbase is growing.”
Although Alvardo, whose advisor is Carlos Alvarado (not related to Joshua), did not have an extensive amateur background, he has compensated by gaining experience through sparring in Orlando with Orlando Cruz, who represented Puerto Rico at the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia. Additionally, Alvardo has benefited from training alongside Andrade and Hernandez.
A self-described boxer-puncher, combination-throwing fighter with good defense and a high ring-IQ, Alvardo is focused on conditioning to get stronger to fight better opponents and more rounds.
“I’m always learning and I need to boost my motor,” promotional free agent Alvardo concludes. “I’m comfortable fighting at 118 but, for the right fights, I can maybe make 126 and could get down to 116. It’s important for me to be signed by a promoter who can push me out. It would also make things easier for me because I wouldn’t need to do all my own work to build my brand.
“I want to be world champion, something I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid. I want to make a ton of money but also plan to leave a legacy. I want to be that guy!”
Alvardo’s arduous mission in the squared circle is far from its completion.
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