Report/Photos Bill Green
Since the arrival of B&B Boxing Promotions, founded and created by Terence “Bud” Crawford and Brian “BoMac” Mcintire, we have watched them groom local talent and now in 2018 sign/manage already established talent. B&B has a close working relationship with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions since Crawford signed with the world class company back in 2011.
As Crawford’s skill and stock grew along with the confidence from matchmaker Brad Goodman, saw in this team, the past few years we have witnessed several B&B talent appear on Crawford’s undercards.
Some of those popular names include former Scottsbluff Junior Olympic champion Alfredo Martinez 7-0, former Omaha Nebraska amateur star Bernard Davis 3-0, former top Omaha amateur star Johnny “The Law” Determan 10-2, and most recently the extremely skilled Mexican-American Omaha native Kevin “Bad Ass” Ventura 8-0. Ventura has won 3 straight on Top Rank undercards and all in devastating ko fashion.
In 2016, we saw another former Omaha National amateur star emerge as Steven “So Cold” Nelson stormed on to the pro scene with ko after ko. The multi-talented Nelson 9-0 also brought something else to the table in both charisma and flare. Nelson has trademark “So Cold” and “What will he wear tho” gear floating around the fight circuit. Nelon’s catch phrases and stellar ring entrances are having fight fans show up earlier and earlier when he appears on the undercards of Crawford. Nelson and Crawford were childhood best friends and feed off of each other in camp.With 6 of his 9 wins coming on Top Rank cards, it was an easy decision for both Nelson and TR to team up.
Nelson stated “I moved back to Omaha full time, I’m all in now. No more part-time training. I’m locked in and as they say it’s beast time. I love me some Las Vegas and you know how I love to entertain. My ring entrance and outfit will flow with my mood at camp, you never know what I will do or wear but that’s why you need to buy that ticket.” Nelson officially signed a 3 fight deal with Top Rank back in December of 2017. Nelson will again appear on Crawford’s undercard as a real Midwest Light Heavyweight showdown will go down in Vegas as he faces KC’s DeShown Webster 10-1 in a scheduled 6/8 round contest on April 14th.
On April 28th in Philadelphia, PA, another B&B hidden boxing jewel, Kent “Puerto Rican Sensation” Cruz 14-0 of St Louis, will make his Top Rank and Espn debut. Since signing with B&B, Cruz has ran off two powerful 1st round knockouts. Cruz will get his first camp experience with Team Crawford and fellow B&B stablemates as the entire camp heads to high altitude in Colorado Springs this weekend. Cruz stated “I can’t sleep at night because I’m so pumped for camp, I got this far on talent and working hard but wasn’t able to give my fullest. To train alongside all the fellas with that much talent in camp is going to put some shine on my skill set. They want me to polish my craft and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” Cruz officially signed with Top Rank back in December of 2017 as well. The nearly 6ft Cruz has his eyes set on the 140lb prize or as BoMac stated ‘He may even make 135 after this camp.”
Top Rank already broke the news a few weeks back when they signed 2012 Olympian, Jamel Herring 16-2. However, it was B&B that pushed the envelope. Herring has been in camp with Team Crawford on several different occasions. They simply love his work ethics which is not surprisingly for a former Marine, especially someone who did 2 tours in Iraq. Herring was previously with Al Haymon and trained alongside Adrien “The Problem” Broner in Cincinnati. Regarding his relationship with past trainer Mike Stafford “ We left on great terms, I was with PBC and those guys and I have zero regrets. There will be no steps back, we are moving forward in life and in boxing. I believe that the folks at TR and here at B&B are the right men for helping me get to where I want to be in this sport. BoMac believes I can make some noise at 126 and 130, so if he believes it, so do I.” Herring will return to action April 14th on the undercard of Crawford/Horn as well. Herring stated that it will be a 10 rd bout and he is not looking for any special treatment, his nickname in the Marines was “Semper Fi”. Translation always faithful, he went on to state “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” Herring displays strong character and is great addition for both TR and B&B.
The list seems to keep getting bigger, as former top Ugandan amateur, Ismail “Sharp Shooter” Muwendo 19-0, of Minnesota, officially signed with Top Rank on Feb 6th. Muwendo last appeared in California on a Roy Jones promotions card. In fact, BoMac helped orchestrate the release from RJJ promotions as he truly believes that Muwendo can and will be a world champion. BoMac stated “Ismail will head to camp with us in a few weeks, he last fought at 142 lbs, we are going to get him in good shape and have him fighting at 130. Once Lomachenko moves up to 135-140, that division is going to be open at 130. Him and Herring are going to be right in the mix.” Herring’s return is being groomed for May 12.
As for the leaders Crawford and BoMac, both continue to shine not only locally but nationally. Crawford was a major hit and fit right in at the NBA Celebrity All Star game. BoMac has signed on to commentate on the undercards for ESPN live streaming feeds. Bo brought his humor and vast knowledge of boxing, mixed and blended them to a perfect recipe all the while providing great commentary.
Crawford stated “I feel blessed because it has been a struggle from the amateur days, people have know idea, we all piled in one car and even slept in the car just to compete at a tournament. This gym wasn’t much in the beginning but now just like us, it has come together. I’m ready for camp, I’m focused. I know what is at stake. I don’t care about all that other noise in the sport. I care about what’s in front of me and that’s Jeff Horn.”
A full Q&A with Crawford will be available soon on both bandbboxing.com and fightnews.com
What’s next? Camp Life returns as they head to Colorado for one goal in mind “Work Time”
