With the three victories against John Medina, Osmel Avila, and Marquell Bradford at the 2019 Western Elite Qualifier and Regional Open Championship in Reno, Nevada, Jonathan Montalvo moves closer to the Olympics now being ranked number one in the country in the Youth Men – 152lbs (69kg) weight class.  

His next two tournaments before potentially making it in the Olympic Trials are the 2019 Eastern Elite Qualifier and Regional Open Championship in Columbus, Ohio in October and the 2019 Last Chance Qualifier in Oxnard, California in November. Montalvo must place in the top two in these tournaments if he were to go to the Olympic Trials. 

“Now that I’m a little closer to my goals and winning off that tournament it made me really put a lot of confidence in me that you know I’m the best in my weight, I’m the best in the country, and going in to the next step I feel like you know I’m that much closer,” Montalvo said. “I’m better than my opponents no matter who is in front of me.” 

Even though Montalvo has a ways to go before he makes it to the Olympics it’s his talent and support system that consists of people like his coach John Glatagkos or better known as Yano and his father that supported him in Reno that will help him get to the Olympics.  

“Yano couldn’t make it out to Reno, so I was talking to him on my phone and he was like ‘that’s excellent, that’s perfect’ and you know he has a thick Boston accent so it real funny,” Montalvo said. “Then my dad he was just super proud of me his reaction he was supper happy trying to take all the pictures he could and he was ecstatic, I mean yeah he was just real proud.”  

 From starting out from being the boxer that chased the number one spot, Montalvo’s new goal is to train harder to protect his spot that he fought and climbed long for. 

“Yeah my trainings changed well it hasn’t changed that much it’s just gotten more intense, it’s gotten harder,” Montalvo said. “And my mindset changed because now I’m not the guy that chasing after the number one spot, I’m the guy that’s just trying to fend off the people that try to dethrone me, take me off my mountain.” 

Defending his mountain might become a difficult task, but with his talent and the people around him he has the resources necessary to possibly defend his throne and guarantee his position in the Olympics.