Olympic gold is once again within reach for Keyshawn Davis. Five months after the highly-touted lightweight turned professional amid controversy with the national governing organisation, Davis and two other American boxers were awarded berths in the Tokyo Olympics on Monday, allowing Davis to make an improbable return to USA Boxing.
K. Davis Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Davis, 22, is one of the favourites in the 63-kilogram class in Tokyo after winning his first three professional fights in the past three and a half months.
With Davis, featherweight Duke Ragan, and middleweight Troy Isley joining the U.S. team as the haphazard Olympic qualifying process caused by the coronavirus pandemic comes to a close, he is undoubtedly the top male candidate for a gold medal on the U.S. team that will be sending five men to Tokyo.
Two men and four women failed to make the initial cut, but the United States now has nine competitors headed to Tokyo.
Davis is relieved to be back in his USA Boxing uniform, though he still doesn’t understand what happened. The team is finishing off its final training camp in a deserted department shop in Colorado Springs.
Due to rule amendments implemented prior to the Rio de Janeiro Games, professional prizefighters are now eligible to compete in the Olympic field, joining amateurs like Davis, Ragan, and Isley in Tokyo.
Professionals travelling to Tokyo are almost solely young prospects like Davis, who gained a head start on their professional careers while staying prepared for Olympic competition, putting to rest fears that an invasion of seasoned veterans fighting amateurs would derail the Olympic tournament.
Ragan is undefeated as a professional since going pro last year, while Isley has only fought once. After the scrapped Americas qualification in Buenos Aires, neither fighter was chosen to compete in Tokyo.
Olympic qualification has been limited to a recognition of past successes due to the epidemic and the upheaval at the top levels of amateur boxing.
As the top-ranked boxers in their respective weight classes from the Americas who did not make the cut during the initial continental allotment, Davis, Ragan, and Isley were granted entry.
Last Words
USA Boxing’s head coach Billy Walsh said he and Davis had a falling out in the past, but that things are amicable between them now and in 2020.
The team is whole again, Walsh proclaimed. This is the group I envisioned having a few years back when we were plotting our strategy to be among the top teams at the Olympic Games.
Davis has returned, and he seems more upbeat than ever. He has always worked well with others. His presence has been uplifting for the group. Thanks for reading our article K. Davis Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
