The 2024 Paris Olympics didn’t go the way Team USA would have wanted! Despite having scored more medals compared to other countries over the years in boxing, this year they will have to be content with just one. Yet that won’t be coming from featherweight prospect Jahmal Harvey. And guess what! The WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis, who is playing the role of advisor to Team USA Boxing, thinks it was a robbery.

Only two of the eight-member team had remained when the games began on Saturday. While Omari Jones managed to clinch a 5-0 unanimous decision win against Bulgaria’s unseeded Rami Kiwan in the morning, which guaranteed him an Olympic medal, Harvey fell to Munarbek Seitbek Uulu from Kyrgyzstan via a narrow 3-2 split decision defeat in the quarterfinals just a few hours ago.

Jahmal Harvey’s Paris punch-out

Shortly after Harvey’s fate was sealed in the squared circle in Paris, the official X account of USA Boxing shared a statement: “Jahmal Harvey’s run at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games comes to a close following a narrow 3-2 decision. We’re unbelievably proud of the grit he showed along the way.”

Soon afterward, Gervonta Davis, who received special permission from a judge to go to Paris for his role as the advisor to the US’s boxing team, responded to the tweet, writing, “Me personally… I thought he won but what do I know…” Davis is currently serving probation for a 2020 hit-and-run case that left a pregnant woman injured.

Jahmal Harvey, from Oxon Hill, Marland, had scored a narrow 3-2 split decision over Brazil’s Luiz Oliveira in his opening bout on Wednesday to make it into the quarterfinals. Harvey, who won gold in the 2021 World Championships, will leave the 2024 Paris Olympics without a medal. His compatriot and teammate, however, has successfully made it into the semifinals. So, let’s look at Omari Jones and who he will be facing in the semifinals.

America’s only medal from boxing, which one will it be?

Unlike Harvey, Omari Jones was the one in control in his Saturday bout, defeating Bulgaria’s Rami Mofid Kiwan to secure a spot on the podium. Jones convinced the judges to score him 30-27, which led to his entry into the semifinals in the 71 kg weight class. America’s last hope for the gold medal will next compete on Tuesday, but against who?

He will fight Uzbekistan’s Asadkhuja Muydinkhujaev on August 6th. Similar to Jones, Muydinkhujaev enters the semifinals with a couple of unanimous decision wins since the games began. Interestingly, Jones has already created history as he became the first boxer to win a medal in the 71 kg weight class since Kenneth Gould at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Hopefully, he could make it to gold!

With that said, Jahmal Harvey will have to go back to the States empty-handed this year. It’s unclear whether this will affect his decision to go pro, or will he try to clinch a gold in the next games in 2028? What did you think about his fight?