Qa'id Muhammad was an undefeated professional fighter, ready to take on a new opponent after six-years outside of the ring.

But an alleged killer with unclear motives who shot the 29-year-old Atlantic City boxer and dumped his body in the Nevada desert cut his comeback story short last week.

"We feel in denial, because as far as I'm concerned, I still haven't seen the body. I'm still hoping," Abdur Rahim Muhammad, his father, said in a phone call with NJ Advance Media Sunday. "I would love for my son to call me and tell me, 'I lost my phone and just took a trip somewhere else.' "

Qa'id Muhammad. (Photo provided)

Police in Henderson, Nev., said a body was found in the desert just outside of Las Vegas Wednesday, after it wasallegedly thrown from a black SUV.

The man appeared to have suffered from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to police.

After tracking the SUV and executing a search warrant at a Henderson home, police arrested Ryan Small, 38, and charged him with murder with a deadly weapon, according to police.

Officials have not yet released the man's identity, but Muhammad's father confirmed the man was his son, and said his family is in the process of trying to get Muhammad's body back to New Jersey for a funeral.

Abdur Rahim Muhammad said his son was on the way to the gym Wednesday, when Small, who his son knew vaguely from another acquaintance, offered him a ride. He said Muhammad had a cell phone and around $500-600 in his wallet, but