Gervonta Davis could head to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as a representative of Team USA, although he will not be pulling the gloves on and stepping into the ring to compete for a gold medal in France.
The WBA lightweight champion of the world, who knocked out Ryan Garcia in April 2023, would link up with the United States’ cohort as an advisor with the aim of coaching them to Olympic glory in boxing.
Given his status amongst the world’s best boxers,” Matt Johnson, of USA Boxing, wrote in a letter to a Baltimore Judge. “Mr. Davis would be a key asset in motivating and supporting our team to achieve Olympic greatness and become the number one nation in the world at this year’s Olympic Games.”
And the judge signed off on the request, permitting him to be in France from July 19-August 12, which had to be made due to conditions imposed on Davis for his role in a hit-and-run from 2020 within Baltimore.
Davis will be a useful asset to the team although he will quickly need to adjust to the differences from the professional and amateur scene, the Olympics being considered part of the latter. In the Games, fighters will compete for three rounds making the odds of a KO slim which is very different to the 12 rounds ‘Tank’ Davis is used to.
All the same, the wealth of experience from his 30 professional fights, the most recent of them on June 15, 2024, could be valuable and Davis is considered to be one of the best in the business pound-for-pound too.
“Some that can punch, can’t box. He can box, he can punch,” Roy Jones Jr said of Davis to All The Smoke Fight. “He can move laterally, he can do it left side, right side.
“He’s the most deadly kind of guy in the world besides a Mike Tyson type guy in boxing.”
Who will Team USA send to the Olympics?
The United States of America has a very high reputation to maintain in the world of boxing when one thinks of fighters such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Mike Tyson so they will be keen to get their hands on the Olympic gold medals again.
Here are the names of the four fighters Team USA will send to the men’s boxing championships in Paris this summer: Roscoe Hill, flyweight; Jahmal Harvey, featherweight; Omari Jones, welterweight; Joshua Edwards, super-heavyweight.
