With the 2020 Olympics officially postponed until next summer, athletes are making adjustments to their training and timelines. That includes Norfolk native Keyshawn Davis, who was poised to represent Team USA as part of the men’s boxing team.
Davis was debating on becoming a professional boxer, which would prohibit him for competing at the Olympic Games. On Thursday, he announced his decision to stay amateur, which gives him another shot at winning an Olympic medal.
“You have the whole world watching the boxing community and outside fans, so winning that gold medal and having all of those eyes looking at me and knowing who I am, can’t get any bigger than that,” Davis said.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Davis was one win away from solidifying his spot at the Tokyo Olympics. Now, that dream is on hold.
It has only been four months since we last saw Davis while he was training at the Norfolk Boxing Center at Harbor Park, but quite a bit has changed.
“When it got postponed, I was just so hurt, honestly. Just hoping they would ‘un-postpone’ it,” Davis said.
Davis was at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs when the coronavirus started rapidly spreading across the country. He and his teammates were disappointed when they learned the fate of the 2020 Games.
“We’re all thinking the same thing, like being frustrated about the Olympics being postponed,” Davis said. “At the same time, we’re all keeping ourselves positive about the situation and we’re just hoping that the Olympic Training Center will be back open May 1 so we can get back to training.”
Davis also wants to give back to his community once the pandemic is over.
He has some advice for young athletes.
“All the athletes out there, y’all just stick to y’all dreams and if y’all dream is going pro, go pro. You know what I’m saying, stay focused. There’s going to be bumps in the roads for even the non-athletes, there’s going to be bumps in the roads, so just stay focused and conquer and just keep pushing.”