Prince George’s County native Jahmal Harvey grew up a fighter, but had to learn to become a boxer.
Now, at 21, Harvey is gearing up to compete in the Olympics after winning gold at the 2023 Pan American Games to punch his ticket to Paris.
“It meant a lot to me,” he said of his victory last year. “It was more so being relieved, more so than being happy. Just all the stress and stuff, just weight off your shoulders, knowing that I finally accomplished what I set out to accomplish. I just can’t wait to go and seize the moment.”
It’s a moment more than nine years in the making for Harvey, who grew up playing youth football for the Oxon Hill Boys and Girls Club in Maryland, where he shined as a running back, defensive back and kick returner.
His football coach at the time, Darrell Davis, said Harvey scored 42 touchdowns in one season and had a promising career in football. But there was one problem — his size.
So when Harvey was around 12 years old, Davis started the gym Oxon Hill Boxing and convinced Harvey to give it a try during the offseason. And when Harvey got to high school, and it came time dedicate his life to one sport, the choice was clear.
“Going into high school, I was probably about 5-foot, 90 pounds,” Harvey said. “I really didn’t have the stature for football.”
‘People would try to test me’
Even though he was a small kid, Harvey said he’s always been a fighter.
“Growing up in PG and Southeast D.C., I always got into a lot of fights. I would say I was picked on a little bit, or people would try to test me just because I was smaller,” Harvey said. “And I always wanted to stick up for my family, so if you messed with my cousins, my brothers, sisters, I was the one that was going to step up for them — fight. So I grew up fighting a lot.”
He went to Charles Heart Middle School in Southeast before transferring to Thurgood Marshall Middle School in Temple Hills. He then attended Potomac High School in Oxon Hill.
Whether it was in school or in his Oxon Hill neighborhood, Harvey said he was always ready to prove himself by using his fists.
Those experiences quickly transferred to the ring, where his confidence, aggressive style and ability to throw powerful punches led to early success in youth boxing, which features shorter rounds. But as he grew older and the rounds got longer, he had to adapt.
“I had that fight in me to just keep coming, keep throwing punches — hard punches. And then once it got to where the minutes were going up in boxing, I was like, ‘I just can’t go out there and just keep punching, exerting all this energy for this longer period of time,'” he said.
Davis, his coach who still works with him at Oxon Hill Boxing all these years later, made him work on his jab, and would have him only throw jabs during sparring sessions. And Davis would put him in the ring to spar with bigger, better and stronger opponents, so he couldn’t just be reckless with his punches.
Keeping Prince George’s Co. on the boxing map
Products of the local boxing scene — such as former World Boxing Council featherweight titleholder Gary Russell and current World Boxing Association Super Featherweight Champion Lamont Roach Jr. — have come through Oxon Hill Boxing to spar with Harvey. Some of the best boxers from around the country, such as WBC lightweight titleholder Shakur Stevenson, have also trained with Harvey at the gym.
“I wouldn’t have gotten as good as I am without having the talent that I had around me to help push me and make me better,” Harvey said.
On the international stage, Harvey has kept Prince George’s County firmly on the boxing map. He won the 2021 World Championship in the featherweight division, which is around 125 pounds. He took home another gold medal in 2023 in the Pan American Games to qualify for the Paris Olympics and currently boasts a 59-7 record, according to BoxRec.com.
But Harvey isn’t resting on his laurels, and he’s not done proving himself.
“I’m so humble, I know anything can happen,” he said. “Every time I do something or I achieve something, it’s just another moment that I just feel proud of myself, because it’s always that next thing you got to do.”
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A boxer’s routine
That mindset has taken him to the Team USA training facility in Colorado, where Harvey is following a strict regimen to prepare for the Summer Games.
He wakes up around 6 a.m. and starts his training at 7 o’clock with “School of Boxing,” which consists of working on his technique by shadow boxing. Then, he moves to strength and conditioning work before eating breakfast and lunch.
In the afternoon, it’s time for boxing practice, where he’ll either hit the bags and mitts or spar.
He said it’s a routine that doesn’t differ too much from what he’s done his whole career to prepare for tournaments.
“I’m just keeping the same regimen that’s been working,” Harvey said. “Just working hard, just going 100% in all my workouts, making sure, most importantly, that my conditioning is there. That’s the most important thing, being able to outwork all my opponents.”
That work started in a tiny room with Davis about a decade ago. When Harvey steps into the ring in Paris, Davis said it’s going to be special.
“We started from nothing. We started with nothing but a punching bag and a pair of hand pads and a gym that was no bigger than 15 feet. And now, we’ve got an Olympian,” Davis said.
The Paris Games will mark the culmination of Harvey’s Olympic cycle, and afterward, he’ll face the decision of whether to go through the same process over the next four years or turn pro.
“I don’t know what’s next for me. I’m just taking it one step at a time,” Harvey said. “Time will tell.”
And while he’s put in years of work to turn from a kid fighting in school hallways in Prince George’s County to putting on the gloves at the Olympics, he wants people to know he hasn’t veered from his aggressive and entertaining style.
“When you see me fight, you’re going to see a lot of action. I’m a very competitive fighter. I throw a lot of punches — a lot of hard punches, too,” he said.
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