American boxer Gervonta Davis has converted to Islam during the last week of the past year of 2023, and follows in the tradition of a couple other boxers who have converted to the Abrahamic religion; most prominently Muhammid Ali. In line with the traditions of his conversion, Davis has also chosen a separate Muslim name for himself; Abdul Wahid.

Abdul Wahid means ‘the slave of The One’, and pertains to servitude towards the Islamic God, Allah. Gervonta Davis joins rival Devin Haney―who recently confirmed that he became a Muslim in 2019―in his transition to Islam, which would make an eventual match between the two Americans even more intriguing given the competitive nature that already surrounds such a prospective bout, and the beef that exists between the two Americans.

The conversion occurred in Davis’ home state of Maryland at the Masjid-E-Hidayah, and was presided over by Imams Hassan Somali and Raha Batts.

Thus far, it does not appear that Davis will use his Muslim name in the same vein as Muhammad Ali, who formally changed his birth name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali in 1966 . A number of other boxers who have converted to Islam have―like Davis―opted to utilize their birth name rather than their Muslim name; most prominent among them Mike Tyson.

Gervonta Davis most recently became the WBA world lightweight champion following Haney’s relinquishment of the WBA ‘super’ title, and the WBA’s subsequent dissolution of the ‘regular’ and ‘super’ labels to appoint Davis as the sole WBA world champion at 135 lbs.

Rumors indicate Davis might soon face Mexican contender Isaac Cruz, who is currently ranked #1 in the WBA’s lightweight rankings. The two faced each other previously in 2021 in a match which Davis won by unanimous decision. Contrary to the last fight, their future potential bout might involve an actual world title rather than the placeholder WBA ‘regular’ title that Davis defended during their first match.