ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 26: Gervonta Davis attends the Official Fight After Party at The Dome on June 26, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.(Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)
Gervonta Davis will be ringing in the new year with his new Muslim name after formalizing his conversion to Islam.
On Sunday (December 24), the boxing champion held his ceremony and revealed he had chosen the name Abdul Wahid, which translates to “The Servant of the One.”
Several friends, including fellow boxer Bodou Jack, joined Davis at the religious service, who shared moments from the conversion onto X, formerly known as Twitter.
In one clip, a man who appears to be an Imam guides Davis as he repeats a prayer after him. Jack captioned the post, writing, “Welcome to Islam brother @Gervontaa Alhamdulillah.”
In another widely circulating video on the internet, Davis can be seen seated next to the Imam, who further explains his chosen name and its meaning to the other Muslims in attendance.
“It means the servant of the one, from the name of Allah,” he said. “The names of God is Al Wahid, The One, and that’s a beautiful name.”
Adapting to his new name, Davis takes a significant step as he continues his religious journey as a Muslim, following a turbulent summer in the headlines.
In February, Davis pleaded guilty at a Baltimore courthouse to four counts in the November 2020 car crash that ended up injuring four people, one of whom was pregnant.
The judge sentenced him to 90 days of home detention at his trainer’s home in May, 200 hours of community service, and three years probation.
But he later checked himself into the Baltimore Four Seasons hotel before moving into a new home, without obtaining permission from the judge, according to The Baltimore Banner. Consequently, the court determined that Davis had violated his house arrest terms.
On June 1, a judge ordered the boxer to serve the remainder of his home detention sentence at the city’s jail. The court ordered the athlete to complete 44 days behind bars at the time of the ruling, per the Daily Mail. He was released on July 14.
Davis’ legal team contended that the home was too small for their client and his security team to serve out his three-month sentence, which prompted him to find a bigger property. However, the reason didn’t justify not informing the judge beforehand.
The legal problems ultimately prevented Davis from his boxing career, with the 34-year-old having stayed out of the ring since April when he fought and won his match against Ryan Garcia.
It still remains unclear when Davis plans on taking on his next fight.
