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.
Julian “El Natural” Montalvo (3-0, 2 KOs) has inked a long-term promotional contract with Top Rank.
The 17-year-old junior lightweight, a Las Vegas native whose family hails from Sinaloa, Mexico, will return this summer following his unanimous decision over Erick Eugenio Tovar Gutierrez last Saturday in Colima, Mexico.
Montalvo is trained and managed by Armando Flores, who has been working with him since his first day in the gym, over a decade ago.
“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,” said Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum. “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.”
Montalvo said, “I am grateful to Top Rank for giving me the platform to showcase my talents. 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 as an amateur, but Flores elected to forgo the national amateur system to give his young charge more experience in the gym and learn the professional style.
Montalvo sparred at many Las Vegas gyms from his early teen years before finding a home at the Top Rank Gym. And, so, his fistic education came from trading leather with a who’s who of modern luminaries. Montalvo is now ready to graduate to the bright lights.