JaCobi Jones Is An Understudy Of Boxing Superstar Terence Crawford Ahead Of Dana White's Contender Series Showcase (Exclusive)

During an exclusive interview with MMANews, Jones spoke about some of the most important lessons he's learned from Crawford during his young fighting career.

"I'm pretty close with 'Bud,'" Jones said. "To see everything transpire the way it has, it's beautiful. To come from such a small city and put us on the map, and do it in such a great way, not having any hiccups along the way, putting the kids first and it's great to see. He's a hell of a role model, I always reach out to him whenever I just feel discouraged in any way or want to hear or see a thumbs-up emoji or anything like that.

"He told me not to skip anything. If you just stick to the basics, don't do anything that you've never done. Don't do anything crazy and out here doing extra stuff, just stick to the basics, put in the work and don't pay attention to the social media stuff. All of that stuff will pay in itself. Pay attention to fighting and what you love to do, so it's really cool to see him. I usually only see him when he's out in Colorado, he brings his kids to the wrestling tournaments...he's like a big brother and I really respect him for everything he's done."

Jones earned the LFA lightweight title earlier this year by finishing Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani. The fight was a back-and-forth war from start to finish and quickly attracted the attention of the UFC.

Crawford is 40-0 in the ring and is arguably still improving despite his accolades. He's become one of the sport's biggest stars, and arguably the biggest Nebraskan athlete of all time.

As Jones prepares for the biggest fight of his life, the words of encouragement that "Bud" gave him are top of his mind. It could only be a matter of time before Jones becomes the next Nebraskan sports star.

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