Boxing: WBA Lightweight champion Gervonta Davis jailed after moving without permission while on home detention

Gervonta Davis poses after defeating Ryan Garcia by knockout in the seventh round during their catchweight bout at T-Mobile Arena on April 22, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

A Baltimore judge has ordered professional boxer Gervonta Davis to serve the remainder of his hit-and-run crash sentence behind bars instead of in home detention after he moved to a luxury hotel and then a new home without the judge’s permission, the state’s attorney’s office confirmed Friday.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Althea Handy sentenced Davis on May 5 to 90 days of home detention after he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a 2020 hit-and-run crash that left four people injured. But Davis’ attorney indicated that the address his client gave at sentencing for serving his home detention was too small for the boxer and his security detail, State’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson Emily Witty said in an email Friday.

Davis moved to the Four Seasons Hotel, where a GPS monitoring company monitored him, and then about a week ago, Davis moved into a waterfront high-rise in south Baltimore, Witty said. Handy hadn’t given permission for either move and as a result, she ordered Davis on Thursday to serve the remainder of his home detention sentence at the city’s jail, she said. The order was first reported by The Baltimore Banner.

Deputies who were present in the courtroom Thursday took Davis into custody and transported him to Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center, Sheriff Sam Cogen said by telephone.

Davis’ attorney Michael Tomko confirmed that Davis was ordered to serve out the rest of his 90-day sentence in jail at an “impromptu” 5 p.m. hearing Thursday, but he declined to comment further, The Baltimore Banner reported. Davis had already been ordered to perform 200 hours of community service, complete a program at the University of Maryland’s R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center and take part in a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim impact panel.

The November 2020 crash happened after Davis, now 28, left a downtown Baltimore nightclub in a 2020 Lamborghini and ran a red light, crashing into a Toyota, according to charging documents. Davis, whose driver’s license was suspended, fled to the Four Seasons Hotel before Baltimore police officers arrived at the crash site, where occupants of the Toyota suffered bruises, cuts and sprains, according to police.

Davis pleaded guilty to four counts: leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, failing to notify an owner of property damage, driving on a revoked license and running a red light.

The Baltimore native has a 29-0 record, with all but two of his victories by knockout. His most recent fight was a highly anticipated match against Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas in April in which he delivered a body shot in the seventh round, causing Garcia to stumble and go to a knee.

Davis defended his WBA world lightweight championship in January in Washington, D.C. The fight was in danger of being called off when Davis was arrested and charged with domestic violence in late December, before the woman who called police put out a statement on social media days later saying Davis “did not harm me or our daughter.”