A university graduate and a full-time farmer, Alan Jones became a professional boxer at the relatively late age of 25.
He may have been a newcomer in the ring but he was no stranger to keeping fit. As a pupil at Aberaeron Comprehensive School, he was captain of the Wales junior cross-country team as well as a keen rugger player.
After leaving school, he went to Reading University and returned after graduating to work on the family farm in Llanon, on the coast road between Aberystwyth and Aberaeron.
Boxing, though, was in his blood. His grandfather Dic Jones had been bullied when he was a schoolboy and had always encouraged his sons and grandsons to learn how to defend themselves.
Back home, Alan continued to play rubgy for his local club but a nasty injury on the pitch led him to concentrate on his boxing. He joined Aberystwyth Boxing Club where trainer Gareth Dowse described him as 'the fittest man he'd ever met'.
Alan turned professional in September 2001, winning his first fight against Cardiff favourite Martyn Woodward. In his next nine fights, he didn't lose a single bout.
His victories included wins over tough Irishman Jim Rock in Belfast and English middleweight champion Donovan Smillie.
His first defeat came in his elventh fight in February 2005 when he faced British middleweight champion Scott Dann on the boxer's home turf of Plymouth. In front of a big home crowd, the title holder delivered a knock out blow just 35 seconds into the third round.
Despite the demands of the ring, Alan has carried on farming. Most mornings, he gets up at 6am to milk the cows and works a 12-hour day. He's set up a punch bag in a cowshed where he trains lunchtimes and during the evenings.
As part of his fitness regime, Alan also runs up to nine miles a day including up Rhiwgoch - a steep hill in Aberaeron where European heavyweight champion Dick Richardson used to train.
Not surprsingly perhaps, quality sparring partners are hard to find in Ceredigion and he travels frequently to Ammanford and Cardiff as well as Belfast.
He admits that being a full-time farmer and a full-time boxer isn't always easy - "The only trouble I do get is enough time to sleep. With travelling so far to get quality sparring and the hours demanded of a dairy farmer, it's very hard work. I'm very fortunate that I've got the support and the people willing to take the pressure off me when I need to concentrate on the boxing".
His fiancee Hannah Baker works as a physiotherapist in Bronglais Hospital and they plan to marry in August 2005.
BBC Sport report on Dann v Jones fightAlan's pre-fight hopesSlideshowBBC news report
Professional Middleweight Boxer
