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Cassy Athena / Contributor via Getty Images and Jason Koerner / Contributor via Getty Images
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Terence Crawford and Kendrick Lamar
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At UFC 306 on Saturday (Sept. 14) in Las Vegas, ESPN confused Terence Crawford with Kendrick Lamar. The blunder quickly gained traction online, particularly because the boxing champion was referenced in the Compton artist’s “euphoria” earlier this year.
Crawford found humor in the mix-up on social media but elaborated further during a Monday (Sept. 16) chat with TMZ. “It was amusing because everyone was messaging me, reaching out and discussing, ‘He’s Terrence Thornton, I’m Terence Crawford, yeah, I’m whoopin’ feet,’” he remarked, referencing the aforementioned track. “I was just thinking of the song, and I didn’t catch the broadcast [that] called me Kendrick Lamar.”
“I had a good laugh about it,” the fighter added. “It was all in good fun because how could you confuse us? Ultimately, it was pretty funny to me.” The native of Nebraska stated that while he hadn’t heard from Lamar about this incident, being mentioned in the same breath as the Super Bowl LIX headliner isn’t a bad position to be in.
“That was a bit rough,” Dana White remarked in a post-conference discussion. “He did somewhat resemble Kendrick Lamar. Let’s be honest here. So, when I claimed we had a perfect production tonight, I retract that statement.”
It’s been quite the bustling year for the Mr. Morale & The Big SteppersBillboard Hot 100 chart. Jump to May, and after exchanging barbs with Drake on various tracks, “Not Like Us” marked Lamar’s second chart-topping hit within a few months.
Though the rivalry between the two rappers has seemingly calmed down since then, Lamar released an untitled track on his Instagram on Sept. 11 — coincidentally around the same time as the MTV Video Music Awards. “I think it’s time to watch the party fade away / This situation has become too severe to apologize,” he proclaimed in the Sounwave-produced song.