Justin Maio Gonzalez Media TV interview on November 14 boxing

The Justin Maio Gonzalez Media TV interview covered the Coast Guard Academy’s November 14 boxing event, hosted by Virginia Military Institute, and the two fighters Maio is coaching for it. Speaking with Jose G., Maio said Kara Mattson will face an Army boxer at 132 pounds, while Hector Rodrigo will make his intercollegiate debut at 151. He also described why coaching fighters with different styles is harder than coaching himself.

What did Justin Maio say about the Coast Guard Academy boxers at the November 14 event?

Justin Maio said Virginia Military Institute is hosting the November 14 event and has invited the Coast Guard Academy, Army at West Point, Navy, Air Force and the Citadel. Two Coast Guard Academy boxers are preparing to compete: Kara Mattson, who will face Army, and Hector Rodrigo, who is approaching his first intercollegiate fight.

Kara Mattson’s matchup with Army

Mattson is boxing at 132 pounds. Maio said the Army matchup will be her fifth bout. She went 1-3 the previous year, and he described her losses as close. He also said she went to Nationals and did well, without giving a placement or result. In his view, she is an excellent fighter looking to add wins.

Hector Rodrigo’s first fight

Rodrigo is a freshman boxing at 151 pounds. Maio said the November 14 appearance will be both his first fight ever and his first intercollegiate bout. That makes Rodrigo’s preparation different from Mattson’s: she has fought before, while he has yet to experience a competitive opening bell.

Both boxers have been working hard at practice, Maio said. Jose G. told viewers the event would be available live on MILLIONS. For updates from the Coast Guard Academy boxing program, Maio directed them to the CGA Boxing page on Instagram.

How did Justin Maio get into boxing at the Coast Guard Academy?

Justin Maio discovered boxing after arriving at the Coast Guard Academy as a cadet in 2009. He had competed in track and soccer in high school but wanted to try something new as a college freshman. The academy’s boxing club gave him that opportunity, despite his having known little about the sport beforehand.

His path resembled that of another academy boxer Jose G. mentioned: someone who had not encountered boxing until college. For Maio, the appeal was not an established background in the ring. It was the chance to test himself in a sport open to newcomers willing to keep showing up.

Maio said many people effectively remove themselves from consideration after they get hit for the first time and do not return. A boxer who is tough and puts in the work, he said, can usually make the team. He identified the mental toughness required to continue as what drew him to boxing.

How does Justin Maio balance teaching calculus and coaching boxing?

Justin Maio returned to the Coast Guard Academy primarily as a math instructor and coaches boxing on the side. He teaches calculus during the day and was in his fourth year as a coach at the time of the interview. Coaching, he said, brings responsibilities that feel different from those he had as a fighter.

Those responsibilities include getting the logistics right and making sure boxers have what they need. He also has to choose matchups that give them a fair chance. It is not enough for him to believe an athlete has trained hard; he has to consider whether that athlete should be in a particular ring.

Maio recalled a boxer asking whether he could beat an opponent. He answered that he would not make the matchup unless he believed the boxer could win. Afterward, he thought more about the weight of that assurance. As coach, he said, keeping matchups fair and setting his fighters up for success is his responsibility.

What is Justin Maio’s biggest challenge in coaching Kara Mattson and Hector Rodrigo?

Justin Maio identified teaching fighters with different styles as his biggest coaching challenge. Kara Mattson and Hector Rodrigo will not necessarily respond to a situation as he did when he boxed. His job, he said, is to work with each athlete’s tendencies, develop their skills and address their weaknesses rather than impose his own approach.

Maio described the reminder he gives himself when preparing them:

I'm not coaching myself. I'm coaching Kara or Hector and they are not me

That distinction extends beyond the way each boxer fights. Maio said they may handle situations differently from him, too. He has to meet them where they are without stopping there: the aim is to build on what they already do well while mitigating the weaknesses he sees.

What has Justin Maio learned from coaching boxers through their first fights?

Justin Maio said one of his proudest coaching moments is helping a boxer get through a first fight. After those first three rounds, he sees an understanding take hold that practice alone cannot provide. Being in the corner for several fighters’ debuts has made that moment especially meaningful to him.

He described the realization after a first bout as a light bulb coming on: the boxer now knows what a fight feels like. Maio did not tie that feeling to a win or a loss. What matters in the story he told is that the athlete has crossed from preparing for a fight to having experienced one.

Coaching has also made him review his own decisions. Fighters sometimes tell him that something he said, or his presence at a particular moment, helped them. They do not always say when they wanted different advice, Maio explained, but he can feel it and revisit a round in his mind. He has looked back and concluded that he should have advised a boxer differently.

What did Justin Maio say about family and his work at the Coast Guard Academy?

Justin Maio said being a father shapes how he manages his work as a calculus instructor and boxing coach. He is married and has two young sons, George and Teddy. Keeping life at home a priority, he said, helps him make time to attend practice and be present for his boxers.

At the time of the conversation, his sons were one and three years old. Maio did not assign an age to either boy individually. He spoke instead about the importance of having things in order at home so that he could meet his commitments elsewhere.

For Maio, the roles of father, teacher and coach are connected by the time and attention each requires. He described fatherhood as central to his life, not as something to set aside when practice starts. That home-first approach is how he said he makes room to show up for the athletes he coaches.