NORFOLK, Va. - The postponment of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was something Norfolk native and Team USA boxer Keyshawn Davis, list many Olympic athletes, saw coming.
“We kind of gave ourselves, mentally, a heads up before it got canceled,” Davis said.
It was only a matter of time after sports leagues all over the world either postponed or canceled their seasons. One cancelation included boxing's Olympic qualifying event in Argentina, where Davis is supposed to be right now, fighting for a win that would send him to the Olympics.
“The momentum was most definitely there. I couldn’t wait," Davis said. "I was just excited about it all, like my dream is finally about to approach me.”
That dream is now postponed, as the Summer Olympics are planning to be rescheduled for 2021.
As this year's Olympics face change, so does Davis. On one hand, the United States of America's top amateur boxer has time to rest up, train and build up a bigger fan base for Tokyo 2021.
"Go to the Olympics, compete in the Olympics, get a bigger fan base out of the Olympics and then go professional," Davis said.
On the other hand, the 21-year-old could toss to forgo his Olympic dreams and turn professional now, a decision he's pondering and will decide on some time this coming week.
Although, winning a gold medal at the Olympics is something that's been on his mind since a young age.
"I'm not going to even lie, I was thinking about the Olympics since I was 7 years old before I even started boxing," Davis told ESPN. "I didn't even know what I wanted to be in the Olympics for, I just wanted to do it. I honestly thought I would be in the Olympics for track."
After spending the last few months in Colorado Springs at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, Davis has returned to home to Norfolk. He'd typically be working out at the Norfolk Boxing and Fitness Center, but like many businesses right now, it's closed and he has to rely on home workouts.
“You can do a lot of inside workouts like sit ups, a lot of calisthenics, just keep your body sweating and stuff like that," Davis said. "It's a good time to study, also. I believe in training the mental as well as the physical."
