Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis has been granted the green light to travel outside the United States to Paris, France, to advise Team USA boxers for the Olympics. Tank Davis is still on probation from a 2020 conviction for a hit-and-run, so he needed permission to travel outside the U.S.
Davis, 29, a former protege of Floyd Mayweather Jr, has been invited by Team USA to advise their fighters, many of whom look up to him and would appreciate his help in this all important global competition.
Tank is expected to be in France from July 19th to August 12th.
Tank’s fighting style of giving away rounds and then coming back to score a one-punch knockout wouldn’t work for amateurs because they can’t afford to give away three rounds and hope for a knockout.
The men’s competition in the Olympics is three rounds, and they’ve got to press from the opening bell to get the win. “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 June 26 letter.
Fighters like Tank Davis wouldn’t do well in Olympic competitions without changing his style because he couldn’t afford to be lackadaisical.
It’ll be interesting to see how Gervonta will affect the young Team USA fighters by mentoring them and giving them guidance.
Technically, Tank’s power game is more suited to the pro ranks, and it’s unclear what impact he could have on the fighters - probably inspiration and a sense of purpose to engineer their passion into achievement.
Amateur boxing in many aspects is very different from professional boxing.
It’s like comparing badminton to tennis. The pro game involves power punching, landing hard, meaningful shots, and looking for knockouts.
Amateur fighting on the other hand, is like fencing.
Here, fighters are looking to land scoring shots. The rules are more rigid and sterner in amateur boxing, where fighters can’t get away with fouling and excessive clinching like in the pros.
Gervonta Davis is currently undefeated in his career as a professional: 30-0.
The southpaw boxer hailing from Baltimore also recorded 30 wins in 33 amateur fights: losing three.
Davis had his first amateur fight in February 2002 against Raymond Castaneda at the Hilton Garden Inn During the 2006 National Silver Gloves Tournament.
By Samuel Opoku Amoah
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