Lavant Brownlee hopes to follow in Muhammad Ali’s footsteps by becoming a U.S. Olympian from Louisville, Kentucky.
Brownlee, 18, had a stellar 2025, winning a gold medal at the youth 2025 Brandenburg Cup in Germany, and then, in December, making the jump to the elite division and winning the 2025 USA Boxing National Championships. He was even named the most outstanding elite boxer of the tournament.
“Seeing how big Ali’s name is in boxing and of course in my city, it is something to aspire to,” Brownlee said. “Especially being from the same city.”
Brownlee originally started at Nicholas Bareis’ Louisville Select Boxing Gym before relocating to 5Star Boxing Academy and training with Aaron Sheckles at a young age based on Bareis’ advice. Bareis was developing Demontaze Duncan, who is now 23, and the age difference between his fighters and Brownlee was significant.
“My coach will always tell stories about how [Ali] would always pop up to the gym,” he said. “[Ali] would always be around.”
Brownlee competes at 65kg, or 154lbs, as an amateur, though he stands well above 6ft 1ins tall. In fact, he doesn’t know how tall he is, because he is still growing and hasn’t had it checked in some time. Brownlee's slender frame draws a comparison to the former world champion Thomas Hearns.
“That is actually one of my favorite fighters; him and Gerald McClellan, ” Brownlee said. “They are both knockout artists and very exciting to watch, but they also have very good boxing fundamentals. They have the same build as me as well.”
Brownlee has short and long-term goals. He aims to make the USA Boxing team and compete internationally this year with hopes of competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Louisville hasn’t had a boxing Olympian since Ali won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games.
“Hopefully, [I will] just continue to make my presence known, before we go to LA in 2028,” Brownlee said. “It would mean the world to me, my family, and my coaches [to follow in Ali’s footsteps]. It would help me create my legacy.”
