Terence Crawford is ramping up preparations for his upcoming clash with Canelo Alvarez.
The Omaha puncher is on a media blackout until fight week and is leaving no stone unturned in training.
Crawford has been sparring a lot of big men as he gears up to make his super middleweight debut on September 13.
However, on Tuesday he invited close friend and WBC lightweight title holder Shakur Stevenson down to his gym to get some rounds in.
Sparring a significantly smaller fighter may seem counterintuitive to the uninitiated, but it is commonplace for heavier fighters to draft in lighter boxers to prime their reflexes and speed.
Stevenson has similar dimensions to Canelo and has the boxing IQ to mimic his style so it makes for a good fit.
Uploading a photo of the pair together drenched in sweat, Crawford wrote: “Little bro gave me some rounds today!!!”
Three-weight world champion Stevenson responded: “Good rounds today with the [GOAT].”
Crawford hasn’t boxed since August 2024 when he snatched the WBA super welterweight crown from Israil Madrimov in a nip-and-tuck affair.
Most anticipated that he was going to attempt to unify the division at 154lbs.
Instead, Crawford decided to move up two weight classes to challenge Canelo for his 168lbs undisputed crown.
Usually when there is such a large size disparity between two competitors, a rehydration clause is added to the contracts to level the playing field.
This was the case when Conor Benn moved up from welterweight to middleweight to box Chris Eubank Jr in April.
However, Crawford’s team opted not to pursue one.
At 37 years old, Crawford is entering the twilight of his career, and is expected to hang up his gloves after his super fight with Canelo.
If he can upset the applecart against the Mexican, then he will be crowned the first male three-weight undisputed champion in the four-belt era, after previously achieving the same feat at super lightweight and welterweight.
At present, Crawford, Naoya Inoue and Oleksandr Usyk are tied for undisputed reigns in two different weight classes.
A victory next month would separate ‘Bud’ from the pack.