During the parade, childhood friend Jimmy Scott-Buffkins slipped in the idea that he bested Crawford in basketball, though Scott-Buffkins was smart enough to avoid fighting him.
“This is history. History is made, and he made it,” Scott-Buffkins said, “and he put us on the map.”
Community pride oozed through the air, with several chants and adoring cheers beaming from the crowd. Area resident Marlon Harrison wanted people to know talented people come from Omaha.
“Omaha is a hidden gem,” Harrison said. “And me, I’m proud to be from this city.”
Part of that city and community pride has to do with Crawford’s dedication to developing the city.
Even though he’s been wildly successful, Crawford has chosen to stay in Omaha. He opened B&B Sports Academy in North Omaha in 2013. It’s a free boxing gym for kids in the area. Scott-Buffkins holds that mission close to his heart as a youth basketball coach.
“Me and Bud, we grew up and we have the same goals,” Scott-Buffkins said, “keep these kids off the streets, get their education and be something in life.”
As for the question of whether Crawford is the greatest boxer ever, Scott-Buffkins said that answer is easy.
“He is the greatest boxer of all time,” Scott-Buffkins said, “and I’ll tell anybody that he is the greatest boxer of all time, period.”
Many people from North Omaha agree that Crawford sets the bar. Crawford represents North Omaha, a primarily Black neighborhood, while also motivating the next generation, said Y’Shall Tarlon.
“Today is Black excellence. We are from this community. It’s an underprivileged community, and they don’t think that someone as amazing as Terence Crawford could come from this community,” Tarlon said, “but yet, here we are celebrating the pound-for-pound champion of the world.”
Crawford’s boxing gym is indispensable, Tamika Mease, executive director of the North Omaha Community Partnership, said.
“Some people think it’s just sports or something extracurricular, but it’s actually violence prevention,” Mease said. “And I know young men where that has actually saved their lives from them being a part of B&B (Sports Academy) and having some place to go throughout the week every day, where they can hone in on their boxing skills and be around positivity and not out in the streets.”
The boxer’s greatness rivals Malcolm X as one of the most influential figures for the Black community in Omaha, Mease said.
During a press conference, Crawford said it’s important to proudly display Omaha and Nebraska signage on the big stage. Many of the successful people from his hometown haven’t stayed.
“Most of the people that make it from Omaha, they don’t come and give back, or they leave and don’t turn around and look back,” Crawford said. “It was very important for me to stay in Omaha, to give those young individuals hope.”
A message of hope for young people has been a constant in Crawford’s career, and he echoed that sentiment in his opening remarks Saturday.
“Anything is possible if you work hard at it, and you believe in yourself and you have the faith to keep going,” Crawford said. “No matter what obstacles are put in front of you, you can achieve anything.”
Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr. said Omaha and Crawford have each punched above their weight.
“He made history in more ways than one. [He] won with power. He won with smarts. He won with grace,” Ewing Jr. said, “and he won with the name Omaha proudly emblazoned on his waist. When Bud won, we won.”
