On December 9, Jose David Nieves Jr. began his journey in the Olympic trials. The trials ended on the December 14 with Nieves securing a spot on the team.
About Jose
Nieves has graduated from Colonia High School in 2018. He has two other siblings that currently attend CHS. Nieves has been boxing since he was about four years old back in Puerto Rico. He moved to the United states for his freshman year of high school and that’s when his journey began. Nieves has been coached by his dad Jose David Nieves Sr. alongside his brothers for as long as he can remember. when asking his brothers about their experience as a team his brother Jasiel Nieves, who is currently a senior, said, “It has been great being with him through his journey, it didn’t only teach him a lot but it taught me a lot as well.”
Agreeing to what his older brother said junior Jeremy Nieves added, “it has been great, he taught me a lot.”
When asking Nieves about his journey and how he did it he said, “When I started getting into it I used to practice a lot, watch boxing shows, practice maybe 3 or 4 times a day, lose weight if I need to, watch my diet,etc.” It sure took a lot from this young athlete to make it this far at such a young age.
Awards
Nieves’s journey has been a long one. It all started from a father and son workouts. Him and his dad also known as his coach used to just workout together in their garage in Puerto Rico. It wasn’t until he moved to the United States that he really got into boxing. His first tournament was when he was 16, in Tennessee which he ended up winning. Not only did he win that tournament, but he also won Nationals from Utah, and the Junior Olympics.
Coach
Coach Nieves has been coaching his son and athlete for as long as he can remember. When asked about his experience doing it he said, “It has been a great journey when I look at it specially being a coach and his father it made me really really proud of him.” He got him into boxing because he himself was a boxer. When asked him if he saw it coming he replied, “He was always a hard worker and I knew he could get wherever he wants if he really put his mind to it.”
What’s next
When it comes to looking for future plans for Nieves, he is looking at his options. Nieves thought he was all set for the Olympics but now he is thinking about going pro. After his extraordinary performances in several tournaments, he started getting offers to go pro. But the real question is he going to take up the Olympics or go pro? In June of 2016, the International Boxing Association chose to allow professionally paid boxers to complete in the Olympics. So this could be an option too.
