LAS VEGAS – Yes, the biggest fight of the year between fellow four-division and previously undisputed champions Terence Crawford and Canelo Alvarez is still more than five months away.

As Mexico’s Alvarez, 62-2-2 (39 KOs), prepares to recapture the IBF super middleweight belt against champion and massive underdog William Scull May 2 in Saudi Arabia that will again make him the division’s undisputed champion, Nebraska’s Crawford, 41-0 (31 KOs), is dedicating himself to moving up two weight classes while preserving his punishing ring craft.

The fact that arguably the sport’s most compelling legacy fight since Mayweather-Pacquiao is on the books, likely bound for a stadium in the southwest, means it’s a good time to check in with Team Crawford and see how the early preparations are faring.

“Things are going great. We’re just taking a little bit of time as we incorporate the things we need to incorporate. We’ve got plenty [of] time and that's what I'm proud about. We’ve got time on our side to prepare for Canelo,” Crawford trainer Brian “Bomac” McIntyre told BoxingScene in a conversation on Thursday.

“That might sound generic, but that’s the most important thing: that we’ve got time on our side.”

Crawford, the former undisputed 140lbs and welterweight champion, has only fought once at junior middleweight, winning the WBA belt in a demanding August bout against then-champion Israil Madrimov that forced him to win the final two rounds to eke out the decision.

Recently, Crawford has posted photos on social media showing off his new, heavier frame.

Crawford’s hellish drive to be the best boxer of his generation has taken him to this mid-September bout funded by Saudi Arabia power broker Turki Alalshikh, and as he’s building toward it, he has maintained the confident demeanor that led him to crush three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jnr two years ago in his biggest bout before this.

At one point before the Spence bout was finalized, Crawford, nicknamed “Bud,” stood in his Nebraska ring and said to McIntyre, “I’m going to fuck him up, Bo.”

He did, knocking down the then-unbeaten Spence three times before finishing him by ninth-round TKO.

With Canelo, the same resolve remains.

“Of course,” McIntyre revealed. 

“He's always working out and I probably talk to him four-five times a week,” McIntyre said. “The different things that people say to me that I always go back to ‘Bud,’ about is, ‘Man, these motherfuckers think we’re in this for the check.’

“Man, fuck them, Bo,” Crawford replied. “We’re gonna beat this [guy].”

“I know we is, Bud. I know we is,” McIntyre said back.

McIntyre has a couple more big fights to prepare his other fighters for, including Keyshawn Davis’ first lightweight title defense and Lester Martinez’s ProBox TV main event Saturday in San Bernardino, California.

“But, you know I'm licking my chops at this September fight because I want to prove to the world – again – that we’re the best team out there, that Terence is the best motherfucker out there,” McIntyre said.

“This ain't no fucking money fight. Everybody might be looking at it like it’s the money, but no. Bud’s gonna beat this motherfucker's ass, dog. Watch.

“I take nothing from Canelo. I take nothing from that young fellow. But, man, when Bud’s on that different level, it’s all about being great with him. It’s not about the money. He’s got money – great money, investments. But this cat wants to be great. And this is the icing on the cake. He’s going to do it, dog. I swear to God he’s going to do it.

“For the simple fact that people say he can’t do it.”

McIntyre’s stirring defense of his fighter followed a Thursday night dinner conversation among boxing writers in Las Vegas, in which one opined Alvarez has never confronted a fighter as smart, shrewd and powerful in both hands.

“The little small shit is what’s going to carry [Crawford] through,” McIntyre said. “The small shit – and I’m not going to mention what I mean – is going to beat [Alvarez]. Watch.

“Not all the heavy punching, not the setting him up. The difference in the fight will be all the small shit you’ve got to pay attention to. I promise you, brother. I get chills, I get so excited about this fight … you know why? I want those [fans] to watch our work.

“Watch us work.”