The WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis marked a significant personal and spiritual milestone when he recently converted to Islam on Christmas Eve. His changing of name formalized the conversion.
The undefeated boxer joined the list of boxers who converted to Islam, with legendary Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson at the top. A change of name after converting to Islam is considered to be the rebirth of the person, leaving behind his previous faith and identity, though Tyson never formally changed his name. Whereas ‘Tank’ changed his name to “Abdul Wahid”.
What is Gervonta Davis’ new Muslim name?
Gervonta Davis, after converting to Islam, has now changed his name to ‘Abdul Wahid’. In Arabic, ‘Abdul’ means ‘the servant of ‘ and ‘Wahid’ means ‘of the one’. ‘The one’ refers to Allah; according to Islamic faith, Allah is considered the creator of everything.
Gervanto changed his name at Masjid Hidayah in the presence of Imam Hassan Somali. Imam Somali was seen later explaining the meaning of his new name to the children and motivating them. Imam said, “the attrubute he chose is Abdul Wahid which means the servant of the one. The Allah, the God is one. That is the beauty of the Islam, we believe in one God, we worship one God. Islam teaches us to be the best versions of ourselves.”
Who does Gervonta Davis fight next?
The undefeated lightweight champion fought two fights in 2023. The first one on January 7 against Hector Luis Garcia and he won by ninth-round TKO. Later, against Ryan Garcia, he won by KO in 7th round. As the year is almost complete, he is expected to be seen back in the ring in early 2024.
Even though he is expected to be seen back in action in the first quarter of 2024, there is no official announcement about his opponent. But his potential match-ups include Devin Haney.
Haney, in a recent interview, said, “It would have to make sense for me to go back down to 135. Tank Davis is still at 135,” about the possibility of his returning to lightweight if he can get a fight with Gervonta Davis.
With a new name and a renewed faith, Gervonta will try to make a statement in his next fight as he continues his quest to become the undisputed lightweight champion.
