Omaha celebrated one of its own on Saturday, welcoming boxing champion Terence “Bud” Crawford home after the Omaha native defeated Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 14 to become the undisputed super middle weight champion.
The city held a parade for the 38-year-old boxer, celebrating his victory. Among those who made an appearance at the parade were Mayor John W. Ewing Jr., Senators Ashlei Spivey and Terrell McKinney, Councilwoman LaVonya Goodwin, County Commissioner Chris Rodgers, liaison for North Omaha Raquel Henderson, CEO of Ring Magazine Rick Reeno, boxing commentator Max Kellerman, boxer Shakur Stevenson and Crawford’s whole team.
“I’m happy for this moment, I’m happy for the support that Omaha has been giving me over the years,” Crawford said at his press conference before the festivities. “I would say I’m blessed. It’s been a rollercoaster, but we made it to the top. No matter how we made it, we made it, and it’s definitely a test to say that anything is possible if you work hard at it and you believe in yourself and you have the faith to keep going know matter what. The obstacles are put in front of you, and you can achieve anything.”
The fight took place in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, lasting all 12 rounds. Crawford won by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the fight, 116-112, 115-113 and 115-113.
Crawford is 42-0 including 31 wins by knockout. He is the undisputed champion at light welterweight, welterweight, and super middle weight, and is the first male boxer to become undisputed in three divisions. He holds 18 titles in five weight classes and is considered one of the best boxers of all-time.
Nebraska governor Jim Pillen had high praise for the Omaha native.
“As the governor of Nebraska, I can make a proclamation,” Pillen said. “The champion of the ring, the greatest male athlete in the history of our state without a shadow of a doubt, is champion Bud Crawford.”
Crawford said he appreciates Omaha’s support, with an estimated 20,000 people attending the parade.
“It means everything,” Crawford said. “Because me putting Omaha on my back since I was a kid, fighting at the Qwest Center in 2006, and everybody coming out to support me as a kid, and me taking that in the ring, as a professional, and every fight that I fought in, I’m repping my city and my state. Omaha, Omaha, Omaha, because when you look at all these other states and stuff like that, they say, ‘Oh, well I’m from New York, or I’m from Texas, I’m from Chicago.’ I’m from Omaha. I’m going to rep my city just like everybody around the world rep their city. I love that Omaha is supporting me, and I love them. We support each other.”
The star boxer is all too familiar with what others think of Nebraskans, but he is proving them wrong.
“Coming from Omaha, nobody thinks you’re capable of doing extraordinary things,” Crawford said. “They just think, small town, we don’t have great athletes, we don’t have great actors, rappers, nothing. They just look over us and everything that we do.”
Crawford is always giving back to children in Omaha, creating BNB Sports Academy Gym, where kids get in free of charge and can use all it has to offer.
“It was very important for me to stay in Omaha, to give those young individuals hope, and to be able to see a person that’s at the top of the world in their craft, and in their sport,” Crawford said. “To be able to say, ‘He’s still here, and I can actually physically see him, and touch him,’ and to know that it’s possible. So I think that’s very critical for these young individuals, because when you’re looking at them, they just need an outlet and motivation, and I’m that motivation for them to succeed in whatever it is in life.
“They see me, and they look at hope. They say, ‘Oh, that’s hope.’ If he can do it, I can do it. That’s my main thing, is I want to have them believing in themselves, and knowing that they can come from anywhere in the world, and they still can succeed.”
Crawford’s trainer, Brian McIntyre, also known as Bomac, has worked with the champion for many years and seen all his success, giving him advice throughout his journey. He ended his presser with an important piece of information that he’s learned from Bomac throughout the years.
“I think preparation is everything,” Crawford said. “If you prepare to the best of your abilities, great things are going to come from that. I always say, hard work beats talent when talent don’t work hard. If you’re talented without the work ethic, somebody can outwork you that wants it more. So you got to have everything all in sync.
“It’s all about staying disciplined, staying composed, listening to your team, and having faith in them.”
