Boxing champion Terence Crawford believes that UFC 306 Kendrick Lamar gaff was 'intentionally done'
09/17/2024 05:58 AM
Boxing champion Terence Crawford has finally spoken out after the UFC broadcast claimed he was rapper Kendrick Lamar.
While in attendance at UFC 306, the multiple-weight undisputed champion was shown on camera during a segment where celebrities in the crowd are filmed. However, the tag showing his name instead claimed that he was top musician Kendrick Lamar, leading to a viral social media moment.
Fans mocked the UFC for the comical flub, with Dana White later laughing off the mistake as the one error his award-winning team had made. What compounded the issue was that the entire selling point of The Sphere event was a phenomenal production, with the promotion pumping in more than $20million.
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Terence Crawford mistaken for Kendrick Lamar on UFC 306 broadcast
On a night where the UFC went head-to-head with boxing’s biggest star Canelo Alvarez, a number of big name boxers made the decision to choose the Sphere over T-Mobile Arena. Ryan Garcia was among the attendees, as was two-weight undisputed champion Terence Crawford.
During almost all sporting events, there is a brief segment where the celebrities in attendance are shown on the broadcast. And it was no different on Saturday night, with Crawford being shown to viewers during the pay-per-view card.
However, what made the otherwise routine moment go viral was the name card underneath Crawford. Sitting next to boxing supremo Turki Alalsheikh, the world champion was branded as rapper Kendrick Lamar, to whom he bares almost no resemblance.
Terence Crawford reacts to embarrassing UFC 306 Kendrick Lamar error
Initially on the night, Crawford laughed off the incident, sharing a message to his Instagram story tagging Lamar and making light of the situation. And it appears that he is taking it in good spirits, although he believes it was a more intentional situation than is being made out.
"I just wasn't taking any notice of it, and then I started seeing the pictures on my phone and everyone laughing," Crawford told TMZ Sports, before noting that he has yet to hear from Lamar following the incident.
"To be honest, I think it was intentionally done. Just for laughters, because how can you get us mixed up? But all in all, it was funny to me."
The boxing star also shared a photo to social media where he was posing with Rihanna, jokingly telling people to put some respect on his name. “Shoutout to my girl @badgalriri she said she don't appreciate yall calling me @kendricklamar,” he wrote. “Y'all better show some respect for the #P4P KING‼️
Dana White laughs off Terence Crawford and Kendrick Lamar mistake
Throughout the buildup to last weekend’s big show, UFC boss Dana White had made a massive deal of how much had been put into the production for the event. He had drafted in people from Oscar-winning teams and even Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour to make the showcase go off without a hitch.
And while he was ultimately happy with how it turned out, one basic error at the lower level cost him a bit of face from viewers. But he ultimately wasn’t too harsh on his team for the error, telling media at the post-fight press conference: “I don’t want to call him out who the hell did that, that was pretty bad.
“He did kind of look like Kendrick Lamar, though let's not f*** around, he did kind of look like Kendrick Lamar. So when I said we had a flawless production tonight, I take that back, there was one that was bad, yeah!”
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