Whenever Floyd Mayweather Jr. hits the boxing ring and wants to spar, he trusts one person to hold the mitts and instruct him. There have been very few who could impress him with their pad work, and it seems his eyes sparked when he first asked Crystal Thomas to do it for him. The fans regularly spot them breaking a sweat in the gym or indulging in intense training sessions, with Thomas guiding and helping the 50-0 boxer. That’s not it.
Thomas continues to pop up and attract eyeballs for her association with other top fighters from Mayweather Promotions, like Curmel Moton. So, the boxing fans are always eager for details about her and her life. If you are also such a fan; scroll down, and you can find it out.
All we know about Crystal Thomas and her background
Thomas is from Michigan and moved to Las Vegas to work with Mayweather Promotions over a year ago. She is a first-generation American, and her parents came to America from Iraq. She is a Chaldean, which is a small Catholic minority from Iraq. But when did her fascination for boxing start? Thomas initially picked boxing as a hobby and started training in January 2021. It was around that time that she started taking clients. While her boxing journey has been only 3 years long, she has already carved out a space for herself.
Interstingly, Thomas never thought in her wildest dreams that boxing would turn out to be a career path. After all, she graduated with a master’s in social work in 2020 and was a school social worker who loved working with kids. In a conversation with Behind The Boxer Magazine, Thomas said, “I always loved working with kids, and I was always an athlete growing up. So being able to work with kids and still do it in an athletic way is what made it even better for me.”
When she started boxing to improve her cardio, she soon found her calling in mitts rather than the punching bag. The Michigan resident had once put on the pads for a session with one of her friends. She still recalls the sensation and once disclosed, “I was like, ‘Damn, I kind of like doing this. I kind of like doing this more than hit the pad’. So it just came. I think it chose me.”
What started as a hobby has now put her in touch with one of the boxing greats. Thomas now works with ‘Money’ and the new crop of Mayweather Promotions stars. But how did the two ever link up in the first place?
How did Crystal Thomas start working with Floyd Mayweather?
Thomas went down memory lane and pointed out that it happened out of the blue. It was a random occurrence. What made her stand out was her zeal to learn and learn more. She narrated the incident where she decided to take the leap of faith first and initiated the conversation, introducing herself and her passion for knowledge.
Thomas admitted, “It was actually really random. When I had met Floyd, I mentioned that I wanted to learn, you know. I came to him and said, ‘Hey, I’m a boxing trainer, I live in Michigan, and I just want to grow. I want to learn more’. And he said, ‘Okay’. Well, [he] asked me to show him some of my work and I was like, ‘Alright’.”
Mayweather Jr., 47, offered her to come to Vegas, and he promised to “get things rolling.” And the world knows the rest. She has taken pointers from Floyd Mayweather Sr., trained with top fighters, and even introduced kids to the basics of boxing since she joined the Mayweather Promotions. But the experience of working with Mayweather Jr. as his trainer tops it all.
Blessings!!! Extremely grateful to be able to soak up knowledge from the GOAT. Floyd always pushes everyone to be great.” That’s what Thomas has to say about working with him. The two are currently putting in extra hours to ensure ‘Pretty Boy’ is in top condition when he faces John Gotti III in a much-anticipated rematch on August 24.
