Boxing champion Terence “Bud” Crawford added to his pro boxing hall of fame resume by soundly defeating Mexico’s boxing legend Canelo Álvarez last September in Nevada. The unanimous 12-round decision made Omaha’s beloved native son an undisputed champion in four weight divisions.
The Reader recently caught up with the champ at his gym, B&B Sports Academy, to discuss retirement, his legacy, giving back and seeing his nonprofit grow into a community anchor.
Some have suggested he retired as not only the best fighter of his era, but the greatest of all time, making him the best athlete to come out of Nebraska.
Crawford doesn’t disagree.
“No disrespect to other athletes who’ve come out of Omaha, but the greatest athlete to come out of Nebraska as a whole is Terence Crawford, period,” he said. “No other athlete from here was the greatest of their sport at the time they were at their highest peak. For me to go undisputed three times, move up essentially three weight classes to go fight the baddest man, walking and beat him in flying colors…” he said, his voice trailing off, letting the facts speak for themselves.
“I feel like I’ve been the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world for a while (Boxing experts) had me number one. But after Canelo there was no question about it.”
At the very least, he’s been in the conversation.
“It was always me, Usyk (Oelksandr) and Inoue (Naoya). It was always the three of us. It could have been any one of us,” Crawford said, adding his beatdown of Álvarez, who had only lost two of 66 bouts before facing Crawford, cemented his legacy. “There’s no denying I’m the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.”
Shortly after the win, Crawford announced his retirement, ending his career a perfect 42-0 with 31 KOs, fully satisfied he accomplished his dream of becoming a champion who brought pride to his hometown. Making history in the process only makes it sweeter.
“I did everything that I set my sights out to do and more,” he said. “Nobody can take that away from me. People can say what they want but you can’t take away my accomplishments.”
Omaha showed out to celebrate his momentous win with a Sept. 27 parade. He was feted by then newly elected Mayor John Ewing Jr., a fellow history-maker as the first African American elected to that office. That evening Crawford and three companions in a car driven by the champ were stopped downtown by police for careless driving. As cruiser and body cam footage reveal, the stop turned tense when a weapon was observed inside the car and its occupants detained at gunpoint. Everyone in the vehicle was legally licensed to carry. Crawford was cited for careless driving.
The interaction raised concerns of police overreaction or profiling since all the occupants were Black men. Cruiser and body cam video was used by both the prosecution and defense attorneys at Crawford’s April 13 bench trial in which Crawford was found guilty of careless driving, ordered to pay a fine and court costs. He did not testify at trial. Earlier, the passengers detained in the stop, including Crawford’s head of security, filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Omaha and police officers seeking damages for alleged physical, emotional, psychological injuries. Crawford is not a plaintiff in that ongoing case.
Ewing called for an internal investigation into the incident. Crawford, who has a history of police encounters, seems to be letting the judicial process play out rather than publicly comment on what transpired, at least for the time being.
“There’s a time and a place for everything,” he said. “I really don’t want to talk about that.”
A more recent traffic stop he was involved in renewed concerns by some that he’s being targeted by police.
“I don’t know if I am or I’m not,” he said when asked if the theory is true.
Incidents aside, his post-fighting lifestyle is much the same as before. He remains a fixture in the northeast Omaha community that raised him, holding court at the B&B (until recently known as B&B Boxing Academy) he co-founded more than a decade ago with his longtime trainer Brian “BoMac” McIntyre. The free, open gym serves youths and adults. Several Team Crawford fighters have found success in the amateur and pro ranks. Demand is so great for the coaching, training and mentoring offered at B&B, located at 3034 Sprague St., that the facility, which has already been expanded, is slated to undergo another expansion to address capacity issues.
Meanwhile, his brick-and-mortar merch store, the TBC Shop, sells official apparel from its 3701 N. 24th St. location. It opened in 2019.
In 2023 he added the former OIC building at 2724 N. 24th St. to his real estate portfolio. As a boy, he used to check out the Omaha Industrialization and Opportunities facility that hosted meetings and classes. When OIC closed, the building sat idle and became blighted. After purchasing it he had it demolished. The community awaits to see his plans to redevelop the site.
He is a familiar face at Omaha North High School athletic contests (his son Terence Crawford Jr. recently won a state title wrestling for North) and other community events where he shows love for fellow achievers. During his rise to fame and now in the afterglow of his icon status, the champ has made himself accessible rather than unapproachable. The man who could live anywhere travels widely (including a recent trip to Australia) but always returns to his roots.
“I’m Omaha thick, through, and thin.”
Loyalty is big with Crawford, who’s kept the same inner circle around him. He and McIntyre are lifetime friends. The same with former fighter Steven Nelson. Nelson has been there for much of the ride.
“It is crazy to see it unfold right in front of you,” he said. “To see somebody go from fighting in small venues to headlining major fights in big arenas and being pound-for-pound number one, arguably, it’s amazing. It gives you a blueprint of what you’ve got to do and how you have to apply yourself so you can get to the same place.”
Nelson enjoys being part of a group to breathe new life into boxing in Omaha.
“We’ll be the pioneers who started this, worked together and built up something,” he said.
Red Spikes, James “Hard Jaw” Henley, Hugh Reefe and Esau Dieguez are more longtime mainstays. What’s kept them together?
“Because we’re family, that’s why,” Crawford said. “We all understand what we’re doing it for and the bigger picture – to see whoever we’re working with be successful. We all respect each other and we all stay in our lanes. We don’t have one coach trying to step on another coach’s toes. Everybody’s cool with the position they’re at.”
Their examples and those of Larry Littlejohn, Grover Wiley, Carl Washington and Joe Edmonson influenced Crawford.
“There were people that paved the way for me by giving back,” he said. “Just imagine if none of these people did what they were doing by giving back to the youth. Where would we be? It was their duty to give back and pass down the knowledge to the kids behind them and I feel like it’s my duty to do the same because I was given something priceless but free, and I gotta do the same. Each one, teach one.”
One of Crawford’s earliest coaches, Midge Minor, became a father figure.
“My guy. We had a lot of ups and downs but we got it right,” Crawford recalled. “He saw greatness in me before I ever saw greatness in myself. All the things he did for me showed the belief that he had in me.”
Crawford’s also reunited with a former elementary school teacher of his from North Omaha, Jamie Nollette, to join humanitarian aid trips her Pipeline Worldwide nonprofit makes to Africa. He’s gone three times with her. A fourth trip is happening this month.
“What I love about Terence is he has remained humble throughout his growing fame,” Nollette said. “He stays true to who he is and not willing to compromise what’s important to him. He also values relationships. Loyalty and family mean everything to him. I admire that.”
She also admires how he’s invested in her, her nonprofit and the people it serves.
“He doesn’t just ask others to help. He goes there himself to see with his own eyes and then chooses to support the people and projects,” She said. “Terence makes the time to become personally involved. It’s been a game changer for Pipeline Worldwide and deeply meaningful for both of us.”
She and young Crawford bonded in her fourth-grade classroom at Skinner Magnet Center, but she never expected what transpired decades later.
“Terence has become like a son to me, and I treasure our relationship,” she said.
The former educator appreciates his curiosity and hunger for more knowledge and new experience.
“He continues to be a lifelong learner,” Nollette said. “He’s always seeking out opportunities to do just that. I’m very grateful to have a front row seat to this and to be part of his journey.”
On a 2015 trip to Africa, Uganda’s boxing community welcomed Crawford and he’s maintained ties with them. Apart from his upcoming trip with Nollette, he’s taking a safari excursion to Tanzania this year. He’s grateful for the travel opportunities boxing affords him.
“Life has taken me so many places that it’s hard to imagine,” he said. “When I think how far I’ve come and the places I’ve been to – all of it circles back to boxing because without boxing none of that would be possible for me. It’s all because of the success I’ve had in boxing.”
A lot has happened on his journey from poverty to riches and from the hood to world citizen. Omaha’s the one constant. Coming up in a single-parent home in a gang-ridden neighborhood, his tough-love mom challenged him to defend himself until he proved he could win street fights. He grew up competing in football, basketball and wrestling. Anger issues got him suspended from schools before the discipline of the ring (first instilled at the CW Boxing Club) took hold. He graduated Bryan High School while honing his craft outside the classroom. He sometimes made his own way to tournaments. His rough, street smart ways rubbed PR-conscious USA boxing officials the wrong way, which cost him opportunities as an amateur.
Once he turned pro the boxing movie fan drew on the grit depicted in “Rocky III” and “Rocky IV.”
“Those were very inspirational movies that motivated me to take my career to the next level training-wise. I used to watch those movies and fast-forward to the training parts. It got me prepared mentally when I was getting ready for big fights. That gave me an idea of how hard I needed to train to get to that next level.”
Later, he got to see Floyd Mayweather train, which once again led him to up his own regimen.
“I got to the point where I knew as soon as I got up in the morning I had to work. Everything became eat, shit, sleep boxing,” Crawford said. “That’s why I decided to take my training camp to Colorado Springs – away from home and all the distractions – and it worked out … Get out of your comfort zone and get comfortable with being uncomfortable; it may be boring and tiring, but get comfortable with it, and then it will be all right.”
Just as his career was breaking he survived a 2008 gunshot wound to his head, an experience that became another lesson in resilience. Within a few years he made himself a contender, emerging a champion the first time in 2014. As his career played out on ever bigger stages he flew his hometown colors in the ring by wearing gear emblazoned with “Omaha.” He attracted title fights to CHI. He used his platform to give homie shout outs in press conferences and interviews. More than any athlete, team or event, he put Omaha on the sports map.
“Just trying to make a name for my city,” he said. “When people think Omaha they now say they have the best fighter in the world” among other shining stars – from Warren Buffett, Cathy Hughes and Alexander Payne to Gabrielle Union, Amber Ruffin and Symone Sanders.
Building his brand extended to B&B, where kids and adults train under the watchful eye of coaches and Crawford himself. Everyone is aware when the champ is in the house. He sometimes takes time to instruct, spar, roughhouse and inspire. He’s seen and done it all by now, but a gym full of people pounding bags, skipping rope, shadowboxing, sparring brings him joy.
“It means a lot, I mean, especially how far we’ve come, from having just one side of the building for the gym to having the whole space to ourselves and hundreds of kids coming every day,” Crawford said. “It means a lot starting it from ground zero to seeing the establishment it is now.”
Sponsorships are still being secured for a new-and-improved gym that can serve more people and allow B&B to hire its own tutors and educational program managers rather than outsource those services. Participants use B&B for recreation, exercise, letting off steam or escaping bad influences. Hardcore competitive fighters train there. Youngbloods and veterans rub shoulders.
“I have my eye on all of them,” Crawford said.
Adonis Marcial Rodriguez and Jazmin Gutierrez-Garcia are two national championship level young amateurs turning heads. On the professional side, Alan Panduro Angulo is a good-looking young pro, Carlito Mejia Garibo is a fast-rising contender, and Lester Martinez is a reigning world champion.
Steven “So Cold” Nelson was a top pro contender until some legal issues surfaced. Brittany Parker won multiple national titles as an amateur and is now pursuing a pro career. Crawford’s proud of how far she’s come while being a single mom, working a full-time job and owning a business.
“It just shows me dedication and determination to be great,” he said. “She’s got the heart. She’s got a lot of heart. You’ve gotta have heart in this game.”
Parker, Angulo and others said what an inspiration it is having the world-class Crawford in their midst, even in their corner or face. He’s there as cheerleader and, as called for, taskmaster.
“I want to see everybody succeed, I want to see everybody win,” Crawford said. “We’re all a team at the end of the day. If I can give out some advice then that’s what I’ll do instead of just looking at you making mistakes time after time and not saying anything.”
Like Minor was with him, he’s blunt and doesn’t tolerate nonsense in the gym.
“I always want everybody to take accountability for themselves,” he said. “At the end of the day you’ve only got you to blame. You’ve only got you to get mad at if something doesn’t go right. I always just want people to train hard, do your best, do what you can but do it well and do it right. I stress working hard and working on your craft because a lot of people come in here and bullshit. I just let them know this ain’t the place to do that. You’ve got to be serious because you really can get hurt in boxing, and we don’t want anybody to get hurt.”
He admits it took him a while to mature into a leader.
“Coming up I never wanted to be a role model. I just never wanted that responsibility,” Crawford recalled. “But as I got older and more kids were coming up to me saying, ‘I want to be like you, I want to box like you,’ it dawned on me like this is my calling, I gotta do it. Because it ain’t what you want to do, it’s what God made for you to do. So I had to change my life. I had to set a good example for not only my kids but other kids that look up to me.”
He gets requests to train fighters all the time but sends veterans or prospects BoMac’s way. Would he ever consider training a fighter himself?
“I might, you never know,” he responded.
If he did, it would likely be someone through the B&B pipeline just to keep it in the family.
Being away from the action, he swears, is no sweat.
“It’s not hard at all. I really haven’t been training. I haven’t punched a bag since training camp for my last fight. I don’t get the itch to where I want to come back to fight. Once it was done it was done. I’m at peace with where I’m at and with what I’ve accomplished in the sport of boxing,” Crawford said. “I said to myself if there was a chance of me coming back right now what would I be coming back for and against who. You can’t go no higher than Canelo. There’s no equal to Canelo. There’s no one level below Canelo. So it’s like, where do I go? Everything I set my sights out to do I did. So I’m blessed. There’s nothing left to prove.”
He acknowledged he’s blessed, as well, for having walked away without suffering any permanent damage. The competition is something he can’t quite replace.
“What I miss most about being a professional boxer is just competing against other athletes, not necessarily just in the ring,” he explained. “When we swam, ran sprints, did certain drills, it was all about just competing … I’m going to always be competitive. I’m not going to go out there and not compete. I’m going to compete for sure. It doesn’t matter what it is.”
Pickup basketball, flag football, video games, you name it, he plays to win.
He pours some of his competitive fire into his children, especially 15-year-old Terence Jr., who’s already an elite wrestler.
“I’m just a support system for my son in any capacity he needs. I see a lot of myself in him because he’s competitive, he hates to lose, he has the will to win. He’s just like me in and out – on the wrestling mat and just in life,” Crawford said.
Terence Jr. showed that grit early on in wrestling, starting at 3 years old.
“He’s won all the tournaments. He’s my son. He wants to be good and great at whatever he chooses to do,” Crawford said.
Terence Jr. and his siblings have all expressed interest in boxing but their dad isn’t having it.
“I told them no. When I explained to them why they understood and they realized the severity of the reason why I said no,” Crawford said. “A lot comes with boxing. Dangers. The politics. The work you’ve got to put into it. The time that it consumes. Just everything surrounding the sport. It’s not just a walk in the park. You’ve gotta give your all – plus 10.”
His word on the matter is final, though he left open a possibility he might reconsider.
“If one of them were to press me then it would be a different situation. But for the time being, it’s no.”
Reflecting back on his career, he said there are many aspects of the fighting game he doesn’t miss.
“The thing I don’t miss is just the consistent beating up of your body,” Crawford said. “Recovery is very important. I learned that the last few fights that I had. The older I was getting I was doing more recovery and things like that to deal with just the constant beating up your body, day in and day out. No, I don’t miss that at all.”
He especially doesn’t miss the politics involved with matches and contracts that the sport’s powerbrokers – promoters and media companies – control, leaving fighters at their whim.
“If we’re speaking boxing as a whole, then the politics would definitely be number one because that kept me out of the ring with a lot of fighters that I should have fought a long time ago,” Crawford explained.
Boxers with potential may begin as free agents but often get signed to companies that handle their careers. Few fighters have the resources to break free and manage their own careers.
“As you’ve seen over the years fighters like Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto, started ventures to do their own thing by having their own promotional company,” Crawford said.
Crawford has publicly called for fighters to organize to protect their rights and control their livelihoods, not to mention their name, image and likeness.
“I think it could potentially be a model but most fighters can’t afford to do the things a more successful fighter is capable of because when it comes to the more successful fighter, everybody wants to see him fight, so everybody’s going to pay to see him fight, whether he’s with a hired promotional company or not,” Crawford explained. “The guy that doesn’t have the name or the marketing ability to sell fights like that has got to have somebody to push him and put him on certain cards to where he can make a living.”
He thinks some form of collective bargaining is possible but may take legal challenges to enforce.
“You got to get a group of individuals that want the same outcome as each other and just go for it. The first thing that comes to mind is building some type of entity that protects the purse and gives the fighters leverage in those agreements,” Crawford said.
For the time being, there’s no scenario for Crawford to return to the ring. There have been offers. More will surely come. But right now, he’s enjoying life outside the media circus. Then again, he’s not saying it couldn’t happen.
Meanwhile, he wants Omaha to know he’s not through being a benefactor.
“I feel like I can do much more in the community, and I will do much more in the future,” Crawford said. “That’s what I’m working towards. I feel like there’s much more to give and much more that the kids can benefit from in the inner city of North Omaha.”