BRIGHTON PARK — A boxer without his gloves is like a soldier without his rifle.
On Saturday afternoon, 19-year-old pugilist Joe Maloney stared down the barrels of two guns and lost some of his most prized possessions: the car his grandfather gave him as a gift a few months ago, the custom boxing gloves with his initials stitched across the cuff and his first championship belt.
When it comes to beating down adversity, though, the amateur boxer is a ring-tested veteran.
Since January, Maloney survived a stroke, fought through the three-week hospital stay that followed and declared his own war against a cell disorder that plagues his immune system, hitting the bags four times a week at Sam Colonna’s Boxing gym.
He’s already looking toward his next scrap. “I might be fighting Wednesday,” he said Monday, sweat dripping from his nose after the last round of launching his fists into a heavy bag. “I can’t wait.”
THE CARJACKING
It happened around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, police said, in the 2600 block of West 35th Street.
Maloney had stopped his white 2005 Lincoln LS at a stop sign outside the boxing gym. He was about to pull into the parking lot. That's when a blue SUV rolled into his back bumper, police said.
The Oak Lawn native got out of his car, and two men got out of the SUV. There wasn’t any damage on Maloney’s car. He told the driver there was no need to call police.
“The next thing I know, the driver says, ‘Now!’” Maloney said.
Both men drew handguns and pointed them at the young boxer. “‘Drop the keys! Drop the keys!’” Maloney remembers one of them saying.
One man pushed Maloney to the ground. On his belly, he watched his car — his trusty transport between home and the gym — speed away.
“I couldn’t do nothing,” Maloney said. “I couldn’t believe it. It happened too fast to react.”
Maloney ran into the gym and told boxing trainer Sam Colonna what happened. The legendary coach called the cops.
Maloney’s car, boxing gloves, belt, blood pressure medications and a radio are still missing. He’s now driving his grandfather’s car to the gym and trying to figure out how he’ll get his own car.
“I can’t get to training without it,” Maloney said. “Hopefully with insurance everything balances out.”
FROM THE HOSPITAL TO THE GYM
Maloney does a lot of his fighting outside the ring.
In December 2014, doctors at the Mayo Clinic diagnosed him with mast cell activation disorder (MCAD), a sickness that impairs the immune system, causes dizziness and stirs up episodes similar to a bad allergic reaction.
That didn’t stop Maloney from fighting his way to the quarterfinals of the Chicago Golden Gloves tournament the same year.
On March 13, 2014, Maloney stepped in the ring with a tough boxer named Matthew Janicki for a 165-pound novice bout and lost a split decision.
Three days later, Maloney suffered a MCAD episode and landed in the emergency room.
Two days after his hospital stay, Maloney was boxing again. He finds solace in finding rhythm of his punches and head movement.
“If I’m not at the hospital,” Maloney said, “I’m at the gym.”
In 2015, his hard work at the gym paid off. He traveled to Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he won four fights in five days to win the National TITLE Boxing Tournament in the 156-pound division.
In January, Maloney faced his toughest fight yet. He had a stroke in his bedroom, brought on by a blood clot.
“I woke up and couldn’t move," Maloney said. "I couldn’t talk.”
He spent the next three weeks in the hospital, where he thought about two things: “Fighting,” he said. “Training.”
Then it was two weeks inpatient therapy — and another two weeks of outpatient therapy. The stroke forced him to take a medical leave from his part-time UPS job and caddy gig.
Despite the setbacks, Maloney is determined to improve his boxing game and turn pro.
He won't let a carjacking stop him.
"It’s all about how hard you work. If you practice every other day, it’s no good," he said. "You have to practice every day."
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