‘Why Should I Leave?’ -Terence Crawford Snubs Vegas and California Spotlight for His Nebraska Roots

A lot of boxers have a dream of training at the best facilities and under the best coaches. A lot of them come from various corners of the United States and travel to places where boxing is the most sought-after sport, including the state of California and the city of Las Vegas, which is regarded as the boxing capital. However, undefeated star Terence Crawford claims that he did not approach his boxing career that way.

Terence Crawford, much like many others, started his boxing journey in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, in the same gym his father used to train. But as he progressed in his professional career, ‘Bud’ chose to go and train in other places, but he refused to change the base of his training. Here’s the reason why.

No need to change lanes to become a better boxer, claims Terence Crawford

Terence Crawford is against changing places and moving to places where boxing is big. Instead, he believes in putting in the work all by himself, and that mentality has helped him remain at the top of the sport. “Why should I have to leave? Somebody made [Las] Vegas a hotbed for boxing. Somebody made California a hotbed for boxing. It’s not where you go, it’s the work you put in,” Crawford stated on the Full Send Podcast. 

Ever since he started boxing, Terence Crawford has always maintained a strong connection, working with the same team, emphasizing loyalty above anything else. We talk about loyalty because, according to his statements, people used to approach him for a move away from Nebraska, which he rejected, claiming people can approach him if they mean business.

“A lot of people always told me, ‘Well, you gotta go here, you gotta go there.’ Like, ‘No, I don’t. I’m from Omaha, Nebraska. I don’t got to go anywhere. They can come to me, and that’s it,'” Terence Crawford further stated. “[People wanted me to move out of Omaha] early in my career, middle of my career. And I just [refused]… They wanted me to train, they wanted me to live out there. The whole nine.”

He believes that someone who wants to go big in the boxing world should be aware of the people they align themselves with from day one. By doing that, they won’t need to worry about changing camps. “All that don’t matter if you believe in your team. If you have a great team around you, you don’t have to change nothing up,” Terence Crawford added.

Well, the contributions of Las Vegas and California to boxing cannot be understated. The regions have produced many stars, with famous gyms like Mayweather Boxing Club and the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy paving the way for budding talents. Despite that, Terence Crawford chooses to stay close to his roots, and guess what? Ahead of his fight against Canelo Alvarez, ‘Bud’ shared a confident message in his hometown.

Crawford’s promise to his hometown

Terence Crawford seems to have a lot of support ahead of his fight against Canelo Alvarez. Boxing legend Mike Tyson wants him to win, but he doubts that ‘Bud’ will be able to topple ‘Saul’. Even the oddsmakers don’t think so, as they have listed Crawford as the underdog while Alvarez is the favorite to win this fight. The only reason behind it is the fact that the undefeated star is smaller in size than his Mexican counterpart.

Boxing star David Benavidez has also backed Canelo Alvarez, “only because of the size.” However, Terence Crawford is out to prove his doubters wrong, and he believes they will have to eat their words. During a convention in Omaha, he made a promise to his hometown, claiming, “All those doubters, at the end of the day, at the end of the fight, they’re all gonna cry when they get home.”

Well, we will get all the answers when Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez butt heads inside the squared circle. The Omaha native would seek to stay undefeated as he’s determined to shock the world by beating an opponent in a higher weight class. Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.