Omaha is buzzing with excitement as the city prepares for Terence "Bud" Crawford's grand victory parade. From boxing clubs to energetic steppers, neighbors across the city are getting ready to celebrate their hometown hero.
The Ol' Skool drill team, which has been dancing together for 26 years, will be among the participants in Saturday's celebration. Joy Borsack from the team said they were thrilled to be selected for the parade.
"Yes, um, we were so excited when we were picked to be in the parade because that is an opportunity of a lifetime is this gonna be an epic thing and the champ is from the neighborhood," Borsack said.
Borsack described Crawford as a North Omaha hero who remains connected to his community despite his world champion status.
"When he sees you he will recognize you personally call you by name, call you out sometimes hey you know and I like that about him. Yeah, he is very humble," she said.
"He's at graduation, he might show up at a birthday party that's just him, he's out there."
The drill team is preparing to put on a show for their champion.
"Right now don't be fooled by what you see because it's showtime Saturday. Showtime boom boom," Borsack said.
At Victory Boxing Club and Community Center, Reverend Servando Perales is also preparing for the parade. The founder of the boxing club was a professional fighter when Crawford was coming up and knew the future champion was special early on.
"He's been to fights here. He actually used to train here for a little while before he started his own gym and so like I said, we go back a long way," Perales said.
The club has a Netflix-donated banner featuring Crawford and Canelo that they might display during the parade.
Despite having to coach three fighters in South Dakota on Saturday, Perales plans to participate in the parade with young fighters from his gym before heading out of town.
"I already told everybody I can't give you guys a ride home because I need to shoot out to South Dakota right after the parade, but I'm so glad that uh I'm, I'm gonna be in the parade again. Again, because he deserves all, all the honor," Perales said.
Both the Ol' Skool drill team members and Perales view Crawford as an inspiration, showing that no matter who you are or where you come from, hard work can help you achieve your dreams.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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