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Olympic Boxer Alyssa Mendoza Soaks In Spotlight, Eyes Return
PHOTO COURTESY OF USA BOXING
BY DAVE SOUTHORN
“Everyone has a plan until they get hit.”
Legendary heavyweight boxer Joe Louis said it more than 80 years ago, and it is one of those quotes that fits the sport perfectly. Of course, it goes far beyond the ring.
For Alyssa Mendoza, getting hit is part of the plan—and how she has responded is why her current life “feels surreal.”
The day before her 21st birthday, on August 16, Alyssa had never smiled so much, met so many people, or been so celebrated. In her hometown of Caldwell, she was recognized as the youngest member of the United State’s Olympic boxing team, given a key to the city, and honored with Alyssa Mendoza Day.
“I have a new wardrobe, I got a new computer, a new phone, I was in Paris—and it was the Olympics,” Alyssa said with a laugh. “Then I come home, everyone wants to congratulate me. You could say it’s overwhelming, but really, that nonstop support has been incredible.”
Alyssa did not come home from the Olympics with a medal, but she did notch a win in her opening bout in the featherweight division, a 3-2 over Tajikistan’s Mijgona Samadova. Alyssa lost 4-1 in the round of 16 to Brazil’s Jucielen Romeu, a 28-year-old in her second Olympics.
If nothing else, Alyssa knows now what it takes to compete at the world’s highest level.
“I can do a lot in four years [before the new Olympics], when I get to LA in 2028, I want more people to know my name—after I got to be No. 1 in the US, I just thought ‘there’s one thing left to do, become No. 1 in the world,’” Alyssa said.
Alyssa’s success has been a family affair, and those who saw her rise every single day knew the success she is experiencing was not some longshot, but in fact a likelihood.
“It’s been a whirlwind…but she’s always had this focus, that if she kept working at it, she would get to that point,” said Alyssa’s mother, Wendy. “When she was 15, 16, that can be an age where you might struggle with that, she said ‘whenever I’ve trusted what you guys have said, it’s worked out,’ and just every day was committed to getting better.”
JR, Alyssa’s father, is also her trainer. He said he knew she had “it” almost immediately when she expressed an interest in the sport around the age of 12.
She trusted him and trusted herself when things got tough, like losing the final bout of the first Olympic qualifier. To qualify on her last attempt, she went 4-0 to nab the last spot on the Olympic roster.
“As a coach, it’s the greatest accomplishment you can have, but when it’s your kid? Somehow it’s even better,” JR said. “To even make it on Team USA from Idaho, being the first one to do it, it’s amazing. I think she can go pro, but trust goes both ways—she knows where she’s going, what she wants—and I’m going to help her get a medal, she deserves it.”
The support of Alyssa’s friends, family, and community is contagious, and she’s felt the love from day one. So what’s next for the young boxer?
“My dad wanted better for me, he believed I could do it. I started believing it myself. I don’t want anyone to beat me,” she said.
