Denver Post: “Local Boxer Alvarado Reboots Career, Life”

Writes Terry Frei at The Denver Post: “In Buena Vista last year, undefeated professional boxer MIKE ALVARADO and the others in his “boot-camp” class were awakened at 6 in the morning.

‘From the beginning of your day, you’re running in place, you’re doing drills, and everything’s fast and quick and you have to be perfect,’ Alvarado recalled this week. ‘There’s no messing up. That is not an option.’

“This boot camp isn’t military-run. Officially known as the Colorado Corrections Alternative Program, it is a high-intensity, 90-day course at the state’s Buena Vista Corrections Complex.

“Alvarado’s promising boxing career was on hold because the Thornton resident’s probation involving traffic- and driving-oriented offenses and an earlier domestic violence charge was revoked last year, and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

“He sought to move from jail in Adams County to the program in Buena Vista, which, if completed, often causes sentences to be shortened significantly. Alvarado graduated from the program Oct. 29 and was released from jail in Adams County in December.”

Read the full story on Alvarado’s road to redemption HERE.

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Alvarado file

MIKE ALVARADO, 29, boxes at 140 pounds and has a 27-0 record with 19 knockouts. Here is a look at his background and career:

* Biological father, Ron Cisneros, was a prominent area Golden Gloves boxer and then a pro boxer in the 1980s. But Alvarado was raised by his adoptive father, Gabe Alvarado.

* Two-time state wrestling champion at Thornton’s Skyview High School.

* Two-time state Golden Gloves champion.

* Pro debut: First-round knockout of Istafa Jihad on Feb. 28, 2004, in Thornton.

* Signature victories: March 7, 2009, 10th-round knockout of Emmanuel Clottey in Denver; July 26, 2008, fourth-round knockout of Cesar Bazan in Las Vegas.

* Trains at Delgado’s Boxing and Martial Arts in Arvada.