Terence Crawford’s advice helped Drew Dober find the finish at UFC 277

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.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