With great power comes great responsibility. The self-proclaimed ‘face of boxing’ Gervonta Davis isn’t just going to waste his time away following his spectacular comeback performance against Frank Martin last month. As he is still on the lookout for his next opponent, his country beckons him. The 30-0 undefeated boxer’s skillset and knowledge about ‘Sweet Science’ is in high demand. The Baltimore native has been given the chance to realize his Olympic dream by taking on the advisory role for Team USA. “Given his status amongst the world’s best boxers, 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,” Matt Johnson, high-performance director for USA Boxing, wrote in a letter to Baltimore Judge, requesting his presence in Paris Olympics 2024. But why is Baltimore’s law and order machinery involved in this?

Davis is currently on probation for a hit-and-run case that occurred in Baltimore in 2020. According to the Baltimore Banner, the 29-year-old boxer has been granted permission to travel with Team US to advise a team of eight boxers who have qualified for the Paris Olympics. Davis will be in France from July 19th to Aug 12th.

Previously, Baltimore’s circuit judge Althea M. Handy wasn’t willing to give in to Davis’ legal team’s demand for the boxer to travel to Paris, citing that she needed specific information about his travel. The Baltimore native’s lawyer Hunter Pruette argued that his client has been compliant with the terms of the probation, and therefore should be allowed to travel. Thankfully, the legal complications have been sorted, and Gervonta Davis will travel overseas to aid Team USA in bringing gold medals for their country.

But, will Davis’ boxing knowledge be useful for the Olympic team? There is a vast difference between amateur boxing and professional boxing. In the Olympics, boxers will only have three rounds to outpoint their opponent. The chances of a knockout are very slim. Unlike Davis, the boxers will not have the luxury to bide their time before looking for a KO punch in the latter rounds. The pugilists have to be switched on from the first bell to land more significant punches than their opponent. Nevertheless, it would be interesting to see what Davis’ strategy would be for Team USA as they go for gold. After all, he has been lauded as a great “chess player” in boxing by one of the greatest pugilists ever to lace the boxing gloves.

The sky is the limit for ‘deadly’ Davis!

For ‘Captain Hook’, Gervonta Davis is a complete package. In a recent interview with former NBA player Stephen Jackson, Jones Jr. waxed lyrical on Davis’ boxing prowess. He admired Tank’s ability to set up punches apart from his obvious natural gift of packing enough power in his delivery system to put his opponent to sleep. The combination of being a good puncher and a skillful boxer is deadly, according to the 55-year-old veteran pugilist.  

“Some that can punch, can’t box. He can box, he can punch, he can move laterally, he can do it left side, right side”, said the four-division champion. Davis’ boxing chops led Roy Jones Junior to proclaim he was “the most deadly kind of guy in the world besides a Mike Tyson type guy in boxing.”

With the skills at his disposal, Davis has proven to be a nightmare in the lightweight division. Now, all it would take is the undisputed title to put him among the current crop of P4P greats. He needs to test his mettle against elite title-holding fighters like Shakur Stevenson, and Devin Haney, to stamp his authority in the professional boxing circuit.

Do you think Gervonta Davis’ expertise will come in handy for the team of Olympians traveling to Paris? Furthermore, do you agree with Roy Jones’ statement about the Baltimore-born boxer? Let us know in the comment section below.