By Ryan Burton

After a 14-month layoff Mike Alvarado (35-4) was excited to get back in the ring in March when he stopped Saul Corral in three rounds.  He was equally excited to get right back in training camp after that fight and is currently preparing for his June 25th UniMas televised main event against Josh Torres that takes place in Dallas, Texas.

"It feels good to get back into it. The boxing world knows that I am making a comeback now that I got everything out of the way.  I did a lot of cleaning up before this last fight.  Going into this last fight I was really confident and my preparation has been real huge as far as backing up my skill set and my whole motivation to make this comeback," Alvarado told BoxingScene.com who was on hand at a recent training session.

"I am thrilled to be back in this boxing world. I couldn't be anymore thankful for getting another opportunity with Top Rank and them lining me up with fights.  Just having them in my corner and giving me another shot to showcase my talent. I have a lot left in my tank and it is up to me to prove that and show that. I had a good win in my last fight - a tune up - and I needed that tune up.  I was real rusty and I had a lot of cobwebs I needed shaken out.  Now that I am back and training for another fight I feel good and a lot better."

Despite winning by third round knockout, there was some criticism of the amount of punishment Alvarado took in the first round.  The all action fighter said that a lot of it was just ring rust and that he felt more comfortable after the first round.

"I took a few shots but that comes with boxing. That comes from a lot of the time being off, taking some of the shots that I did.  It is just what it is.  That didn't take away from me at all.  I started feeling my rhythm and got in my groove after the first two rounds. After the first round my trainer told me, 'you're back!' And it felt good to be out there in front of the crowd and just get back into it," said Alvarado.

The 35-year-old Denver native has had well publicized run ins with the law and problems with alcohol.  He said that he knew he had to change his ways and that he used the time away from boxing to clean up his issues, get married and concentrate on his family.

"I was living in a dark world for a while there. It took a lot of heart and God - I surrendered my life over and once I surrendered my life over he straightened me up and got me on my path and took care of me.  He got me back doing what I need to do to do what I am destined to do. I am very thankful to God.

"I was fed up of living that lifestyle. I knew I was on the wrong path mixing that in with my training. I knew I wasn't balanced out like I needed to be. I cleaned myself up and I got my boundaries set. I feel so good right now and never imagined it going as well as it is. Just being clean and having no distractions, I am a married man, a newly wed with a baby on the way so I am cleaned up. This is what I want to do.  This is my life now, just training hard and working hard to become world champion again," revealed Alvarado.

Many of these types of stories - particularly in boxing - have tragic endings.  Alvarado's story appears to have a very good chance to buck that trend.

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