How has the Omaha fight scene changed since Terence started having success?
We have more fights here, way more amateur fights here than we did before. I made a note to myself that I was going to change the way boxing was here. Put more shows on. Get more kids in the gym, a little at a time. And other coaches started grasping onto that. I told the other coaches to come over to our gym. Watch how we train. Ask for advice. Before, the other coaches just used to bicker back at each other.
Recently, I was talking to the president of the board here. I said, “Before, when we were at a national tournament and the other guys found out they were fighting a Nebraska guy, those motherfukkers started jumping all around the fukking joint because they knew they were about to get a win.” That’s because we were taking bullshyt to the tournament.
We still have to get better. Now we have a board that is passionate about boxing. You know…not stealing money from the kids, kids not getting their per diems. It ain’t like that anymore. Kids get their per diems. Coaches get a little bit of gas money. Things are looking up now.
I counted today. We had 42 fighters in the gym. Eighteen of them were either in the second week or their first week. With the advanced kids, they work by themselves in one corner of the gym and on the other side of the gym, we work with the beginners. It’s coming along.
Who are some other fighters that we should know about coming out of Omaha?
Look at Steven Nelson. He’s a 168-lber. I’m managing him and I train him during camp. Steven was the 2012 Olympic alternate. Look for him. I have Treven Coleman. He was a fukking good amateur. Kevin Ventura was a national Golden Gloves runner up. All of those guys are undefeated. With Kevin and Treven, we’re moving them slowly, one step at a time and they’ve fought more locally. Steven was on the World Series of Boxing team and fought all over the world. He fights mostly on Top Rank cards.
It seems like you and your team are having a lot of fun. Would you say that’s true?
We are. We understand that it’s not going to last forever. With Terence, the key thing is that we keep doing what got us here. We train in Colorado Springs. No distractions. We’re still working hard. I told our guys, the other members of our team, don’t go out and buy a bunch of bullshyt that you don’t need. Save your money because there will be some dry months. Prepare yourself for the next fight. Also, stay in the gym and work with the amateurs. They are your future. You want more champions? There are your champions right there. And just soak it all in. Have fun and be yourself.
Who’s a boxing trainer that you’ve looked up to or means a lot to you?
You know, I haven’t been around a lot of trainers because I’m in the Midwest. So, everything that we do now has been a result of trial-and-error. And I never really had a lot of advice. It was just trial-and-error.
But I always looked up to Emanuel Steward because when I watched him, he always had his fighters with him. When we were at a national tournament, they were all around him. He was their trainer, their manager, their uncle, their father. You can’t get any better than that. He used to always take his fighters around with him. It didn’t matter if they were 4-0 or 5-0. Like a guy like Andy Lee. Or amateurs, when they were 16 or 17 – they were always around him and I respected that. I never got a chance to pick his brain but I watched him all the time.
A lot of fans are fascinated by potential matchups for Crawford at 147 lbs. Who do you see, if anybody, as a potential threat in that division?
I don’t see anybody who's a potential threat in that division. One thing I’m going to do is make sure my guy is well prepared before he steps in the ring for any style, whether that’s Garcia, Thurman, Porter, the young kid – Spence. Whoever. I will make sure that my guy is prepared. Anything that someone else can bring to the table I want to make sure that Terence has seen it and worked on it in camp.
One thing about Terence is yes, he loves to box and he loves to fight, but he understands that it’s his job. He knows that people depend on him. If Terence fights on a Saturday, he’s right back in the gym on a Wednesday or Thursday, doing some shadow boxing or whatever. The good part about it is that Terence understands what it takes to be a champion, what it takes to defend your title.
We talked about this just the other day. He said he wants one more fight in the junior welterweight division and then he’ll move up to 147. And when he gets tired of that, he’ll retire. And I want what’s best for him. I’ve known him since he was little. He’s like a little cousin that way… For me, if something hurts Terence, it hurts me too, like a parent. I start coaching with my heart... Listen, I don't want to see him get hurt. I want to see him make as much as he can. Enjoy his life. Enjoy the money that he makes. Watch his kids grow old. That’s what I want for him.
Saturday Night Boxing: The SNB Interview -- Brian McIntyre
We have more fights here, way more amateur fights here than we did before. I made a note to myself that I was going to change the way boxing was here. Put more shows on. Get more kids in the gym, a little at a time. And other coaches started grasping onto that. I told the other coaches to come over to our gym. Watch how we train. Ask for advice. Before, the other coaches just used to bicker back at each other.
Recently, I was talking to the president of the board here. I said, “Before, when we were at a national tournament and the other guys found out they were fighting a Nebraska guy, those motherfukkers started jumping all around the fukking joint because they knew they were about to get a win.” That’s because we were taking bullshyt to the tournament.
We still have to get better. Now we have a board that is passionate about boxing. You know…not stealing money from the kids, kids not getting their per diems. It ain’t like that anymore. Kids get their per diems. Coaches get a little bit of gas money. Things are looking up now.
I counted today. We had 42 fighters in the gym. Eighteen of them were either in the second week or their first week. With the advanced kids, they work by themselves in one corner of the gym and on the other side of the gym, we work with the beginners. It’s coming along.
Who are some other fighters that we should know about coming out of Omaha?
Look at Steven Nelson. He’s a 168-lber. I’m managing him and I train him during camp. Steven was the 2012 Olympic alternate. Look for him. I have Treven Coleman. He was a fukking good amateur. Kevin Ventura was a national Golden Gloves runner up. All of those guys are undefeated. With Kevin and Treven, we’re moving them slowly, one step at a time and they’ve fought more locally. Steven was on the World Series of Boxing team and fought all over the world. He fights mostly on Top Rank cards.
It seems like you and your team are having a lot of fun. Would you say that’s true?
We are. We understand that it’s not going to last forever. With Terence, the key thing is that we keep doing what got us here. We train in Colorado Springs. No distractions. We’re still working hard. I told our guys, the other members of our team, don’t go out and buy a bunch of bullshyt that you don’t need. Save your money because there will be some dry months. Prepare yourself for the next fight. Also, stay in the gym and work with the amateurs. They are your future. You want more champions? There are your champions right there. And just soak it all in. Have fun and be yourself.
Who’s a boxing trainer that you’ve looked up to or means a lot to you?
You know, I haven’t been around a lot of trainers because I’m in the Midwest. So, everything that we do now has been a result of trial-and-error. And I never really had a lot of advice. It was just trial-and-error.
But I always looked up to Emanuel Steward because when I watched him, he always had his fighters with him. When we were at a national tournament, they were all around him. He was their trainer, their manager, their uncle, their father. You can’t get any better than that. He used to always take his fighters around with him. It didn’t matter if they were 4-0 or 5-0. Like a guy like Andy Lee. Or amateurs, when they were 16 or 17 – they were always around him and I respected that. I never got a chance to pick his brain but I watched him all the time.
A lot of fans are fascinated by potential matchups for Crawford at 147 lbs. Who do you see, if anybody, as a potential threat in that division?
I don’t see anybody who's a potential threat in that division. One thing I’m going to do is make sure my guy is well prepared before he steps in the ring for any style, whether that’s Garcia, Thurman, Porter, the young kid – Spence. Whoever. I will make sure that my guy is prepared. Anything that someone else can bring to the table I want to make sure that Terence has seen it and worked on it in camp.
One thing about Terence is yes, he loves to box and he loves to fight, but he understands that it’s his job. He knows that people depend on him. If Terence fights on a Saturday, he’s right back in the gym on a Wednesday or Thursday, doing some shadow boxing or whatever. The good part about it is that Terence understands what it takes to be a champion, what it takes to defend your title.
We talked about this just the other day. He said he wants one more fight in the junior welterweight division and then he’ll move up to 147. And when he gets tired of that, he’ll retire. And I want what’s best for him. I’ve known him since he was little. He’s like a little cousin that way… For me, if something hurts Terence, it hurts me too, like a parent. I start coaching with my heart... Listen, I don't want to see him get hurt. I want to see him make as much as he can. Enjoy his life. Enjoy the money that he makes. Watch his kids grow old. That’s what I want for him.
Saturday Night Boxing: The SNB Interview -- Brian McIntyre
