Hall of Famer reveals why he told an unknown Terence Crawford he’d be world champion after sparring him

An elite fighter knew that Terence Crawford was meant for big things when he first encountered him.

Regardless of whether he was stripped of his belts, Crawford always seemed the obvious favorite to sweep fighter of the year awards in 2025.

His landmark victory over Canelo Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion finally felt like the moment that he received all the praise that he deserved.

What we didn’t know at the time was that it would be his last appearance inside the ring, with Crawford announcing his retirement on December 16.

A fighter who knows ‘Bud’ well recently told the goosebumps-inducing story of how they met and the impact that it had on him.

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Timothy Bradley had to ask Terence Crawford who he was after being stunned by him in sparring

Boxing Hall of Famer Timothy Bradley is most well known for his trilogy of fights with Manny Pacquiao.

During a recent appearance on Andre Ward’s ‘The Art of Ward’, Bradley recalled how before his first bout with ‘PacMan’, when he was preparing for Devon Alexander, he met Terence Crawford for the first time.

‘Bud’ was flown in to be his sparring partner and they immediately got in the ring without introducing themselves to one another.

“I get in the ring with him, my team is right here. This dude is by himself,” Bradley recalled. “Terence is in the corner by himself. Ain’t nobody, he came to my corner to get water after every single round.”

Crawford’s ability to go toe-to-toe with him immediately stunned the reigning WBO light welterweight champion, with him admitting that his coach ended the session early due to how competitive it was.

Bradley says he then approached Crawford to ask him who he was and where he was from, telling him that he wasn’t just a sparring partner, he was a world champion.

The 42-year-old went on to explain that he knew the man he continued to train alongside wasn’t any ordinary fighter due to one trait.

“I sparred him on Monday so then I’m going over the film and studying him and looking at the mistakes he made on Monday but then Wednesday comes and he’s a completely different fighter,” Bradley said. “Nobody was in his corner. By himself. It was like this dude had a photographic memory, bro. So that’s when I was just like this dude is different.”

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Timothy Bradley called Terence Crawford’s manager to buy him out of his contract

Timothy Bradley also revealed, when speaking to Andre Ward, that the impression Terence Crawford made went further than keeping him around as a sparring partner.

The former champion joked that the reason he didn’t introduce himself to ‘Bud’ at first and they sparred immediately after he arrived was to check whether they’d need to send him back home if he wasn’t good enough.

This is what Crawford’s manager Cameron Dunkin expected to hear when he received a phone call from Bradley after the session.

Instead, Bradley called to ask whether he could buy him out of his contract, which Dunkin obviously declined after hearing how their sparring session had gone.