Drew
Dober credits Terence
Crawford with helping him adjust his approach against Rafael
Alves.
Dober met Crawford at B&B Boxing in Omaha, Nebraska, and
recalls the boxer leaving him bloodied during their first sparring
session. Years later, Crawford offered advice from ringside that
Dober says helped him finish Alves at UFC
277 in Dallas.
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How Terence Crawford helped Drew Dober adjust against Rafael
Alves
Dober said Crawford switched to southpaw to mirror his stance and
bloodied his nose with a jab. He recalled absorbing three punches
for every one he attempted to throw.
“Terence Crawford bloodied my nose in the first 30 seconds of our
spar. I was a young fighter in a North Omaha gym,” Dober wrote on
X. “Never heard of the guy they called ‘Bud.’ He saw I was a
southpaw, switched to southpaw too, and stuck me with one jab. I
was bleeding like a stuck pig.”
Crawford attended Dober’s fight against Alves at UFC 277 in 2022.
Dober said he struggled to connect cleanly because of Alves’ head
movement. As he returned to his corner after the opening round, he
noticed Crawford calling from the front row and urging him to
attack the body.
Dober followed that advice, finding success in the second round
before knocking out Alves with a body punch in the third.
“In the fight against Rafael
Alves, I’m trying to hit him in the face, I’m throwing punches
and this man has amazing head movement…” Dober recalled. “After the
first round, I’m going over to my corner and I see Terence Crawford
in that front row. And he’s just yelling at me, ‘Drew, Drew.’ So, I
look at him and he goes, ‘Go to the body, go to the body.’ I was
like, if Crawford says it. So, in the second round, I started going
to the body and started finding success. So, in the third round, I
threw a liver shot and I dropped him with that liver shot.”
Dober (29-15, 1 NC) has won his last two fights by stoppage and
will face Chris
Duncan (15-3) at UFC
334 on Nov. 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Terence
Crawford bloodied my nose in the first 30 seconds of our spar.
I was a young fighter in a North Omaha gym. Never heard of the guy
they called Bud. He saw I was a southpaw, switched to southpaw too,
and stuck me with one jab. I was bleeding like a stuck pig.
https://t.co/hrl8rYAiVR— Drew
Dober (@DrewDober)
October 29, 2026