The next chapter of The Black Sword
After the Sword
A Story of Redemption, Resilience, and What Comes Next
The Black Sword ended with Phil Albenze sober, a champion natural bodybuilder and a personal trainer with his own gym. After the Sword covers what came next: Masters boxing in his fifties, an injury he hid from everyone, the clients who changed him, his wife Kim, and the one person he couldn't save.
Published September 2026.
What the book covers
The back cover sets it up in two lines: "The battles don't end when the fight is over. Sometimes, that's when the real work begins."
Phil always wanted to box, he says, but was too out of shape until bodybuilding changed that. When he retired from the bodybuilding stage he took up Masters boxing. The book walks through those early days: the brutal training, the rib-breaking injury he hid from everyone, and the fight that tested everything.
It also tells the stories of people he met along the way: mentors, clients facing addiction, illness and loss, and Kim, who stood by him through every round. And it turns to the personal lessons, about fatherhood, forgiveness and faith.
The ring, on the record
Phil boxes in the Masters division, the amateur division for older fighters, out of Youngstown's Golden String Boxing Club, and before that Downtown Boxing Club. In November 2021 he won the Masters main event at Jack Loew's Thanksgiving Feast card in Girard by decision. In March 2022 he was matched in a Masters super heavyweight bout in Youngstown, and in February 2025 in a heavyweight bout in Campbell.
In August 2026 Loew matched him with former Harlem Globetrotter Wayne "Rare Air" Clark. "Phil is a former bodybuilder and well-conditioned athlete who is passionate about the game of boxing," Loew told the Tribune Chronicle before the bout.
He still spars at his own gym, which has a ring. One sparring partner is Bill, one of his first clients, who turned 70 in 2026 after beating cancer.
Clients, in their own words
The book is as much about the people Phil trains as about Phil. On the podcast, three of his clients tell their own stories: Karen, who started at 71; Tory, who lost a leg at 51; and Bill, who walked in because he wanted the leg strength to hold up his 900-pound motorcycle.
Questions about After the Sword
Is After the Sword a sequel to The Black Sword?
Yes. Its cover calls it "the next chapter of The Black Sword." It picks up after the addiction and bodybuilding years that The Black Sword covers.
Do I need to read The Black Sword first?
It helps. After the Sword goes deeper into moments The Black Sword covers, then follows what came next. The Black Sword has the full story of the addiction years.
When did it come out?
The paperback came out September 11, 2026, and the Kindle edition September 13, 2026.
How long is it?
The paperback is 170 pages, 6 by 9 inches. Amazon lists the Kindle edition at 231 pages.
Is it a true story?
Yes. The back cover ends with "It's a true story."