DAVIS Keyshawn

Olympic qualifying results
He secured a spot for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo through the IOC Boxing Task Force [BTF] rankings. (washingtonpost.com, 07 Jun 2021)

General
OLYMPIC OPPORTUNITY
He has dreamed of winning Olympic gold since he was a boy, and planned to compete at the 2020 Games in Tokyo after they were postponed until 2021. However, he clashed with coaches on the US national team over training camps as Davis claimed he was unable to attend all of them due to family obligations. He was told in December 2020 that he was no longer part of the US national team, which prompted his decision to turn professional in 2021. He won his first three fights as a pro, but in June 2021 he was offered an Olympic quota place through the IOC Boxing Task Force [BTF] rankings and decided to grab the opportunity. "I did not expect this at all when I went pro. I was not looking to come back to the amateurs. I was happy with my decision. I was a happy fighter. I could make my own schedule, travel wherever I want and make good money. But when the Olympics came back to me, it was a no-brainer to go back." (espn.com, 08 Jun 2021)

FUTURE PLANS
He intends to resume his professional career after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "After I win the [Olympic] gold medal, it will not change anything. I will be staying on that same course as I was before this Olympic opportunity came up for me again. The gold medal gives you added exposure, but it will not mean I am looking to go down some fast-track route. The plan will be as it was before the Olympics. I'm currently a lightweight, but I can certainly see myself ending up at super welterweight, possibly even middleweight. If I have got the opportunity to go through the divisions, I will do it." (skysports.com, 25 Jun 2021)

MENTAL HEALTH
At age 18, while he was in his final year of high school, he relocated from Norfolk to Alexandria in the state of Virginia in the United States of America to start working with boxing coach Kay Koroma. He began suffering from anxiety and had anger issues, and he was urged to check into a mental health facility by a counsellor from his school where he found the group therapy sessions helped him work through his issues. "[Anger] was the only emotion I knew how to show. It's all I let people see even though I had all the other feelings too, I just kept them hidden and underneath. [On the day he checked in] they watched me through the night. I couldn't sleep by myself. The mattress was so thin it hurt my back and it was so bright in the hallway I had to fight myself to sleep. There were kids in there, really young, like seven and 12 and 15, a lot younger than me. And you see these young kids doing it, opening up, talking about their problems, I start thinking, 'Shoot, I can do this if they can'. You see these kids stepping up and you get this attitude. Three days in and I was ready to start talking - it made me feel better to hear what these little kids were going through. And when you share things, you feel like you're not alone." (olympics.com, 07 Jul 2021)

CLOTHING BRAND
He runs a clothing brand called 'DB3' with his brothers, Kelvin and Keon. (Instagram profile, 20 May 2021)