Julian Montalvo, the wonderkid who has caught the eye in Las Vegas gyms and was recently featured by BoxingScene, has turned professional with Top Rank.
During the past year, you could not go to the Top Rank Gym specifically without hearing about Montalvo, who at 17 years old is 3-0 (2 KOs) and boxes at junior lightweight.
Top Rank described their new signing as: “Boxing’s best-kept secret – a teenage prodigy whose sparring sessions have become the stuff of Las Vegas gym legend – is about to be unleashed.”
On May 17, Montalvo, from Sinaloa, Mexico, won a decision over the 22-year-old, 3-1 Erick Eugenio Tovar Gutierrez in Colima, Mexico.
Her is being trained and managed by Armando Flores, who was there with him when Montalvo stepped into the gym for the first time in 2015.
“I am grateful to Top Rank for giving me the platform to showcase my talents,” said Montalvo. “Boxing is my passion, and I will continue giving everything I have to the sport.”
“Julian grew up in the Top Rank Gym learning from so many great fighters, so this was the natural fit,” Flores said. “Top Rank’s track record of developing champions is second to none.”
Montalvo went 20-1 in the amateurs, but Flores thought he would get a better grounding and development in professional gyms rather than in the national amateur system.
He will likely next box on the same promotions as some of the luminaries he has worked with.
“Julian Montalvo is among the greatest teenage talents I’ve ever seen – a humble young man who has spent the past several years nurturing his prodigious talent at the Top Rank Gym,” Bob Arum said. “He has handled numerous world champions, top contenders, and blue-chip prospects with shocking ease. After witnessing several sparring sessions, I knew I was watching someone special. I’m excited for boxing fans to discover ‘El Natural’ and follow his journey to world titles and the pound-for-pound list.”