Full Show: Eagles Crushed the hapless Chiefs, NBA Star hurt again, and Jake Paul goes nuclear.

Stephen A. Smith is a New York Times Bestselling Author, Executive Producer, host of ESPN's First Take, and co-host of NBA Countdown.

Stephen A. recaps the Philadelphia Eagles’ stunning Super Bowl LIX win over the Kansas City Chiefs with NFL Hall of Fame great Cris Carter. He discusses rapper Kendrick Lamar’s dynamic Super Bowl Halftime performance that featured celebrity appearances by Samuel L. Jackson, SZA, and Serena Williams. In the NBA, he comments on Anthony Davis’s adductor strain injury during his Dallas Mavericks debut and offers former New York Knicks player Nate Robinson well wishes after kidney transplant surgery. Dan Rafael, Publisher of Fight Freaks United, joins the show to talk about Jake Paul calling out Canelo Alvarez for backing out of their May 3rd bout. 

Support the show: http://www.youtube.com/@stephenasmith

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I expected a lot of things in New Orleans. I
expected a Super Bowl matchup, no doubt.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
I expected to see Patrick Mahomes and Jayla Hurts. What
I didn't expect wasn'tn.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Ass kicking I beat alone. What I beat down, I
ain't expect that. But guess what.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
That wasn't the only beatdown that took place at Super
Bowl fifty nine. There were others right in the same stadium,
right on the same field. I'll explain exactly what I'm
talking about in a second. Stephen A Smith Show.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Scot.

Speaker 2 (00:46):
What's up, everybody? Welcome to the latest edition of The
stephen A. Smith Show, coming at you over the digital
airways of YouTube, as I love to do at least
three times a week. Okay, thanks as always, I like
to take a moment, just pause for a second and
thank myself, debscribers and followers. On top of the millions
of downloads we've received over the last few months courtesy
of iHeartRadio, we've also received about one point eight zero

(01:09):
eight million new subscribers over the last twenty two plus
months or so. So I can't thank y'all for the
love and support enough. The show keeps on growing and
since it keeps on growing clearly because of your support.
I'm gonna keep on coming with it, keep bringing the
love and support, and I'll make sure to do the same.
To continue to like and follow the show, just click
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newest content right here on the stephen A Smiths Shaw

(01:30):
and you'll consider yourself a part of the stephen A
Smiths Show family. And while you're doing that, make sure
to pick up a copy of my New York Times
best selling book, Straight Shooter, a Memoir of Second Chances
and First Takes now and paperback. Just go to straight
shoot book dot com to get yourself a copy. Once again,
that straight shoot book dot Com to get yourself a copy.
Let's get started with the world. The sports world, anyway,

(01:50):
has to get started. And that's what Super Bowl fifty
nine in New Orleans, that beat down that took place
in by you. The Philadelphia Eagles went into the super
Dome and handed the Kansas City Chiefs of flat out
ass whipping that we haven't seen in a long time.
In the Super Bowl, Philly's defensive front dominated the game,

(02:11):
sacking Patrick Mahomes six times, registering eleven quarterback hits in
the midst of a forty to twenty two win.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
They were up thirty four to nothing.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
By the way, the stat that's probably most telling is
that the Eagles didn't send a single blitz the entire
game at Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and still managed to
get pressure on sixteen.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
Of his forty two drops.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
As for the Eagles offense, Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts
was nearly perfect, completing seventeen of twenty two pass for
two ndred and twenty one yards, two touchdowns, and won interception.
He also rushed for seventy two yards, breaking his own
record of seventy yards set just two years ago when
the Eagles lost to the Chiefs in Super Bowl fifty seven,
thirty eight to thirty five. Hertz is now the only
quarterback with multiple fifty yard rushing games in the Super Bowl.

(02:56):
He's also the first NFL player to have at least
five passing touchdowns and five rush touchdowns in a single postseason,
and ten of each overall in the playoffs. Jayala Hurts
is the MVP. He's worthy of being the MVP. He
shut a lot of people up. A lot of people
had questions. Now, I'm not one of those people that's
gonna sit here and apologize or ask for having questions.

(03:17):
After all, I did pick the Eagles to winn the
Super Bowl, and I picked Jalen Hurts to be the MVP.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
I did that Friday morning.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
I'm not apologized that I don't owe an apology, and
I don't think most people are an apology. And here's
the reason why. The Philadelphia Eagles since Week five ran
the ball more than anybody in the National Football League
and threw the ball less than anybody in the National
Football League.

Speaker 1 (03:35):
So clearly this team, this offense belonged to sain Kwon
Barkley in.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
The eyes of a lot of people, including that of
the Philadelphia Eagles.

Speaker 1 (03:42):
But when called upon to show.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
Up, because the kinsas city Chiefs, actually did a great,
great job of neutralizing sain Kwon Barkley. That is what
Jalen Hurts did, throwing the pass down the right sideline,
the AJ Brown, throwing that bomb to Devonte Smith, picking
them apart, running with the football, officially moving a change,
stretching the defense, doing what he does and.

Speaker 1 (04:03):
What he can do so effectively.

Speaker 2 (04:05):
Here's the bottom line about Jalen Hurts only does his
win all he does his win, and when you look
at it from that standpoint, he has to he has
to get credit. But I got to tell y'all something,
when we talk about an ass whipping, how can anybody
come before the Eagles defense, specifically they're front four. Did
you see what this cat sweat did, Josh wet Did

(04:27):
you see Degene intercepting Patrick Mahons for a pick six?
Did you see the Eagles front four waving off the
rest of their defense saying, we got this, you don't
need the blitz, we don't need any help. They were
up in Patrick Mahomes's ass. It was that bad. It

(04:48):
was a straight beat down, no way around it. And
I'm saying to you that when you look at it
from that standpoint, ladies and them. I got some of
the numbers in front of me in the first half.
These were These were the numbers for the Chiefs offense.
Down twenty four to nothing. They had a grand total
of one first down, They had a grand total of
twenty three total net yards. Patrick Mahomes was already intercepted twice,

(05:13):
a pick six and then one of his own fourteen
yard line, which led to another touchdown.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
By the Philadelphia Eagles, so he basically gave them fourteen points.
The Eagles doubled them up on time by possession.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
Neither Travis Kelcey nor DeAndre Hopkins had a single reception,
and on top of it all, the Kansas City Chiefs
were aer for six on third down in the first half.
Ladies and gentlemen, they ain't cross midfield until a few
minutes remained in.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
A third quarter. It's Patrick Mahomes.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
They didn't cross midfield until a few minutes remained in
the third quarter. Patrick Mahomes never faced that kind of
deficit in his career. He had never been sacked six
times in his career.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
I mean, Lord have mercy. They got in his ass
and he was tapped dancing in the pocket like the
late great Gregory Hines.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
God rest the soul because he felt like he was
being blitzed, because.

Speaker 1 (06:08):
They were like piranhas. They were all over him.

Speaker 2 (06:12):
That to me, was the story of the game. Jalen
Hurts was efficiently deserved.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
MVP.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Aj Brown got off, Vontae Smith got off. Nick Sirianni
looks good today. Howie Roseman looks like a genius today.
As the Eagles GM Jeffrey Lourie, who once demoted how
He rose It in favor of Chip Kelly before realizing
the error of his ways, firing chip Kelly and bringing
Howie Roseman back. He ends up looking good today.

Speaker 1 (06:40):
But nobody, I mean nobody look better.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
Than that Eagle's front four on defense, make no mistake
about that. But Jaylor Hurt still deserve the MVP, no doubt.
Haven't said all of that. Anything else that I've got
to say is best that you know. I don't leave
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down Super Bowl fifty nine is Hall of Fame. Hall
of Fame wide receiver to one and only Chris Card
All he.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
Did was catch touchdowns what's up, big Time? How are
you doing?

Speaker 3 (08:44):
My nd?

Speaker 1 (08:44):
How's everything?

Speaker 5 (08:45):
Thank you for invitation day after the Super Bowl. It
wasn't the type of game that we would like, but
you got to give it the Philbadelphia.

Speaker 1 (08:54):
That's where I was going. It was an ass kick. Yeah,
it was an ass kick and Chris.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Forty two to forty to two twenty two does not
indicate how dominant this damn game was. Make no one's
think about it. What stood out most to you about
this game?

Speaker 3 (09:07):
I was totally shocked that they were able to rush four.

Speaker 5 (09:10):
People the minim amount of rush people and put the
maximus amount of pressure by doing that. And I know
that Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes have been doing this
the last five years with hocus focus, but they really
got exploited as far as their.

Speaker 3 (09:24):
Weakness on that offensive line.

Speaker 5 (09:26):
Their left tackle is not a left tackle and their
right tackle is not a good right tackle. So Philadelphia
was able to do that and play all their own
coverages and keep all eyes on Patrick Mahomes. It was
a great game plan, but they had the personnel to
do execute that game plan.

Speaker 1 (09:41):
Christmas.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
One thing for me, if I see a game and
it's like something's developing and you recognize that you might
have an advantage, so.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
You exploit it.

Speaker 2 (09:50):
It's another thing entirely when the Philadelphia Eagles appeared to
walk into the game knowing exactly what they were going
to be able to do, seemingly having little no concern
whatsoever about their defensive line being neutralized in any way
by the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line.

Speaker 5 (10:07):
Is that what you saw, well, I think that they
had a lot of confidence coming into the games. Anytime
that you see a dominant defense. If we've seen the
top defense in the NFL be in this game thirteen
times now eleven times, that top defense has won the championship,
only losing twice. So when you have two weeks to prepare,

(10:28):
you can find out the weakness of the opposition like
no other week during the season. So there was a
time and two both where we saw a lot of blowouts.
Now not of late, we've had a lot of close matchups,
but this was a blowout from the beginning in it
because of one unit, and that was the defense to front.
Yet they had a great game plan. They didn't have
to put their safeties and their linebackers in man demand,

(10:49):
and you didn't and you have to blitz Patrick Mahons,
because that's what Fansio has figured out in the last
eight times that he faked Patrick Mahons.

Speaker 3 (10:57):
Guess what, I haven't beate him. Guess what I did.

Speaker 5 (11:00):
Blitz it awful lot. He's great against the blitz. So
he was able to have that game plan, have the
personnel be able to play a style that he won
to and he got the support of the offense putting
points on the board, which led to Kansas City's panic.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
You know, I'm looking at some of these number CC
and I got to tell you something. When the Eagles
were up twenty four to nothing in the first half,
which was a shock in and of itself, I knew
Patrick Mahomes had already thrown a pick six. I knew
he had thrown another interception at his own fourteen yard line.
But I'm looking at some of these numbers. Twenty four
to nothing, zero first downs, one total, well, one first down,

(11:36):
I'm sorry, twenty three total net yards, zero for six
on third down.

Speaker 1 (11:43):
What about Patrick Mahomes here?

Speaker 5 (11:45):
Well, we have seen the greatest players in this game,
and that's why football is the ultimate team game. We
give credit credit to the quarterback all the time, and
then we also give blame to the quarterback. But he
can't do his job if he can't get to the
top of his drop when you have a four man
rush and he has five people protecting them, and the

(12:05):
numbers advantage is on the offensive side. The Philadelphia they
flipped that. So, yes, Patrick Mahomes he played an average game.
All he had was two fifty you know, three touchdown passes.
But the pick sixers and trying to force the ball
was because he saw that not only do we not
have an answer to this defense, but you know, offensively,

(12:28):
Philadelphia is also putting points on the board. So that
sped up Patrick Mahomes's clock. Even though in the previous
Super Bowls that he won he had been down by
ten points, this was a different beast that he was
facing in yesterday's Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (12:40):
I saw the Kansas City Chiefs get blown out by
the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I've now seen them get blown
out by the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowls. They've been
outscored by forty points in three Super Bowl losses. Tom
Brady has been outscored by just fifteen points. Somehow, some way,
no matter what Giants pass Russia looked like, not once,

(13:02):
but twice, no matter what the Philadelphia Eagles, you know,
their defense looked like, no matter what the Legion of
Boom looked like when he ended up beat Seattle because
Pete Carroll and Darryl Bello decided for Russell Wilson to
try to throw a pass at the half yall.

Speaker 1 (13:17):
Line instead of giving it up to beast mode.

Speaker 2 (13:20):
We've never seen Tom Brady look so lost, so discombobulated.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
So destroyed in the game the way that we.

Speaker 2 (13:26):
Saw Patrick Mahomes is the goat conversation over for now.

Speaker 3 (13:30):
Anyway, Well, I wouldn't hold my breath about it.

Speaker 5 (13:34):
You know, people tried to get ahead of what history
really is. People try to prognosticate compared to watching it
and seeing where it goes. I mean, Tom Brady was
never put in this situation. Also because Tom Brady had
Bill Belichick. Bill Belichick would have never had a game
plan like that against an offensive line like that, you know,
So that's part of the equation there. When you talk

(13:56):
about Tom Brady, you have to put Bill Belichick. I'm
thall him at the Super Bowl excited to see.

Speaker 3 (14:01):
What he's gonna do for the North Carolina Twyrolds.

Speaker 5 (14:03):
But for preparation that to me, that line was not
prepared mentally nor physically for what the Philadelphia Eagles are
going to do, which we didn't see in Tom Brady.
So now when you start to separate, now he's three
and two in Super Bowls, tom Brady seven and two,
seven and three in Super Bowls. It's a hard time

(14:24):
to get back up that mountain.

Speaker 3 (14:26):
But there's a lot of football left to be played.

Speaker 5 (14:28):
But I doubt, I doubt that he's gonna pass Tom
Brady as the greatest quarterback of we seen play in
the National Football League.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
Now, I was just talking about the God conversation for
the time being, But you know you brought up Bill Belichick.
This is Andy Reid is no slouch. Andy Reid is
one of the great great coaches in all history. So
what are we to think about Andy Reid and how
ill prepared the Kansas City Chiefs looked to go up
against the Philadelphia Eagles, especially since he made virtually no

(14:56):
attempt to run the football at all yesterday.

Speaker 5 (14:59):
I think Andy Reids gonna go back and look at
it just like he did in Tampa Bay. They do
a good job as far as personnel, and given some
of the economics since then, as far as some of
the players they had to get rid of Tyrek Hill
to be able to afford Patrick Mahomes' new contract.

Speaker 3 (15:13):
They'll retool.

Speaker 5 (15:14):
They realize that their left tackle is a very good
All Pro guard and he can't play left tackle. They
realize the right tackle is gonna jump off side.

Speaker 3 (15:22):
An awful lot.

Speaker 5 (15:23):
He's only going to be an average player, so they
will retool. Their defense was very, very good, outstanding, didn't
have a good day yesterday, So that's what they'll do
for a personnel's department. They're gonna put good players around
Patrick Mahomes. His receiving corps will be absolutely better next
year than the one he had this year, just because

(15:43):
of injury, subtraction, adding subtraction, and he hasn't been loaded
at the wide receivers file for the last couple of years.
So there's ways that they can improve their roster. Don't pay, retool,
and they Patrick Mahomes will play in another Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (15:58):
Spagnola, the defensive coordinated, the legendary dispensive coordinating in the
eyes of many, who should be a Hall of Famer
in his own right, not once, but twice. He's been
lit up by Philadelphia Eagles. Now he gave up thirty
five points to Super Bowl fifty seven. The Eagles dropped
forty yesterday even though a pick six and another interception
basically set up another touchdown. You know by interceptions by

(16:20):
Patrick Mahomes. What are we to make us, Maagnola.

Speaker 5 (16:22):
Well, if you look at the personnel, this defense does
not match up well against Philadelphia because especially this year's
version of it where they can smash it that you
with Barkley, everybody can make.

Speaker 3 (16:35):
Them throw the football.

Speaker 5 (16:36):
That's not what you want to do because when you
do make them throw the football, typically you're a man
man because you got to put all those guys up
at the line of scrimmage because of the box. And
Jalen Hurts ability to be able to be accurate with
the football at an all time high.

Speaker 3 (16:50):
He only keeps getting better.

Speaker 5 (16:52):
He got Ben to the National Championship game. For Tua
toa come back and throw and throws one. He has
to transfer goes to Oklahom. I'm gona start to learn
the passing game. Doesn't get drafted in the first round.
He's still learning the passing game. He never gets enough credit.
All he does is win. All he does is get better.
And the personnel around him offensive line six six steven.

Speaker 3 (17:14):
A three point thirty, they're monsters in the NFL.

Speaker 6 (17:17):
They are monsters.

Speaker 5 (17:19):
I mean they look but heemus compared to Kansas City's
defensive front and that's what they're getting. And let's not forget.
I'm gonna say this. Philadelphia has been the best team
in the NFL in last year and a half. Last
year they started season ten and one. Now their head
coaches growing. They had some inside stuff going on the team,
but they were ten and one and then now we

(17:42):
know they fell apart.

Speaker 3 (17:43):
And then this year they win the Super Bowl.

Speaker 5 (17:45):
So they've been doing a lot of winning there in Philadelphia,
ironing stuff out. And I do believe their head coach
is only going to mature even more, and the players
play hard for him. It's a special combination. So I
can understand Spad Go. Yes, he does a great job.
But the personnel Philadelphia, Davonte Smith, aj Man, Sakwon hurt Man,

(18:08):
they provide mismatches that he doesn't necessarily have answers to,
and that's why they've been so productive.

Speaker 3 (18:15):
In those two media, let.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
Me throw something at you about Jalen Hurts because I
don't listen. The man deserves major, major props, no doubt,
and congratulations.

Speaker 1 (18:23):
The whole nine.

Speaker 2 (18:25):
But when I think about Jalen Hurts and what he's
done in the postseason over the last three postseasons, people
don't realize this about him.

Speaker 1 (18:31):
His record is.

Speaker 2 (18:31):
Six and two, He's been to two Super Bowls, He's
now won a Super Bowl Championship. He's completed sixty nine
and a half percent of his passes one oh two
point five passer rating, nineteen touchdowns, just two interceptions, nine
pass ten runs and two just two turnovers.

Speaker 1 (18:48):
So those are great numbers on a part of Jalen Hurts.

Speaker 7 (18:51):
What I would push back on you, tho, Chris, is
this people act like folks were just hating on them,
And I'm of the mindset, wait a minute, we needed
to see We suspect that you could do it, but
we needed to see it.

Speaker 1 (19:03):
And there's no crime there because since.

Speaker 2 (19:06):
Week five, the Eagles have rushed the football more than
anybody else in the National Football League, and they've thrown
the football, you know, less than anybody in the entire
National Football League. So whatever question marks we may have
had about Jalen Hurts was created by the Eagles more
so than anybody else.

Speaker 1 (19:26):
To that, you say, what.

Speaker 5 (19:28):
Well, most teams run the football because they have a
dominant off offensive line, they have a great running back,
or philosophy, or the fourth thing is their quarterback doesn't
have the arm count to be able to lead the
team and throw on the ball forty times. The Eagles,
they don't have that in Jalen Hurts, but their other

(19:50):
answers to winning are better than him dropping back forty
times because of their offensive line. Say for the last
eight or ten years, they've been dominant and now they
have won the best runn that they've ever had in
their history.

Speaker 3 (20:03):
So now how am I going to choose to win games?

Speaker 5 (20:06):
After the Bude week, they said, just out offensive line, coach,
great guy, underrated in their system. We're going to run
the football. Everyone balled into it. So when they're running
the football.

Speaker 6 (20:16):
They get a lot of man to man on the outside.

Speaker 5 (20:18):
So there's a lot of ways to win games. Jalen Hurts,
his development has been very, very different than a lot
of other quarterbacks that we've seen. So a lot of
times to me.

Speaker 3 (20:28):
I'm like, I need.

Speaker 5 (20:28):
To see a little more too, so I can understand that, yes,
you need to build to see more.

Speaker 3 (20:33):
But sometimes people are not just running the ball because
lack of arm town.

Speaker 5 (20:38):
It's because of the overall way to build to win
a football game. Utilize the talent that we have as
far as man, we're bigger than them, we're more physical
than them, and there's a mentality from the team that
goes through the fan base and the mentality of Philadelphias.
So I think those different windows and his passing is

(20:59):
still developed.

Speaker 3 (21:00):
It gave people that opportunity.

Speaker 5 (21:02):
To say, you know something, he's not as good as Lamar,
He's not as good as Patrick, he's not as good
as Josh and some of these other players.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
Well is he? Now, yeah, you gotta give it to one,
all right?

Speaker 3 (21:14):
Him?

Speaker 1 (21:15):
WHOA, I'm asking you a specific question. Give it to him.

Speaker 2 (21:18):
How do you have him as a top five quarterback
in the National Football League right now?

Speaker 5 (21:22):
Right now? If I got a draft and if Jalen
Hurst is not drafted right after that, it's just because
we are in the elite time in quarterbacks.

Speaker 3 (21:31):
Okay, Now I'm gonna tell you something.

Speaker 5 (21:32):
Do you think if Joe Burrow wasn't in Philadelphia, they
wouldn't have won some Super Bowls.

Speaker 3 (21:36):
If Josh Allen wasn't in.

Speaker 5 (21:38):
Philadelphia, they wouldn't have won a super Bowl if Lamar
was in Philadelphia. So I'm not gonna say top five,
but he should be in the top ten. And just
because he's not in the top five, that is not
a slap in the play man. We are in the
golden age of dudes that can throw that football. Got
it understand he happens to be one of them.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Let me move on to a fraternity that you are
a member of the Hall of Fame. Their class at
twenty twenty five was revealed. It obviously includes Antonio Gates,
Eric Allen, the one and only Sterling Sharpe who I
was just with the other night at former Viking Jared Allen.
Your thoughts on the class that includes only four inductees

(22:18):
this year.

Speaker 5 (22:19):
People think it's just a no brainer every year, six seven,
eight guys are going to go in.

Speaker 3 (22:26):
That's not the truth.

Speaker 5 (22:27):
The Hall of Fame is still trying to be selective
and you need to get eighty percent of the vote.
So guess what happened this year? Steve and I we
have four people that got eighty percent of the vote.
Now what I've liked to see another receiver get in.
Given the receivers that are on the happening waiting, that
being Tory Hope, that being Reggie Wayne, that being Steven A.

Speaker 3 (22:50):
Smith. Seen.

Speaker 5 (22:51):
All these guys are gonna be Hall of Famer. But
I had to tell some of them too, even after this. Hey,
if you would have gotten in, Sterling Sharp wouldn't have
gotten in. But let me tell you something which you
might not know. And I had to go back to
maybe your daddy was thinking about court and your mama.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
This dude was a base. This dude was one of
my role men.

Speaker 1 (23:10):
He saked about Sterli. Shot he say about Sterli Show. Yeah,
Oh he was.

Speaker 3 (23:14):
He was a master.

Speaker 1 (23:15):
People don't realize of a monster.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
He Hall of Fame was a crime. And only reason
why he hadn't reached.

Speaker 5 (23:21):
The accolades for which he should have received was the
guy broke his neck. So for me, man, this is
one of the greatest stories ever, not only his story
to get to the Hall, but by the way, man,
he grew up in an awful situation with another kid
who's in the Hall. The first time it ever happened. Now,

(23:41):
Steven A, I'm gonna give you some numbers. Three hundred
and fifty million people have played football in some form
of fashion. Twenty eight thousand US played the National Football League.
Only fourteen thousand US played more than four years. Only
three hundred eighty two of us in the Hall of Fame.

(24:02):
And now Stirling number three eighty two. It's an unbelievable story. Man,
it is unbelievable. I'm I'm moved deep in my soul.

Speaker 3 (24:13):
Man. Have them guys in the Hall.

Speaker 5 (24:16):
Because of their ability to be overcome adversity and make
themselves better through football.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
He deserved.

Speaker 5 (24:25):
Last thing I'm gonna say about Stirling. He gave me
my first opportunity to go to the Pro Bowl. When
he heard his next we were at the Super Bowl
in Atlanta. We were in the hospitality suite. He found
out that I was the alternate. It was my first
thousand yard season, and he was like, you know, Brian Man, congratulations.

Speaker 3 (24:43):
I was like, yeah, you just he had just finished
his third straight one hundred catch season and he's congratulating
me on a thousand yard season, and I said, yeah, man,
I'm altered. He got on the house phone and called
Green Bay and came.

Speaker 5 (24:56):
Up with an injury. Called the training room, said my
hamstrings hurt. The NFL called me twenty minutes later in
the hospitality suite and was able to go to my
first provo of eight provos. But at that time, Serling Sharpe,
Michael Irvin, Jerry Rice, and Andre Rison, those were the

(25:17):
receivers in the NMC, and it was him and Jerry
Rice as the who's the best? All right, So I
can't make people forget that conversation.

Speaker 3 (25:27):
That dude was worthy of it. The other cats, they
will get their recognition.

Speaker 5 (25:31):
A great class, small class, you know, Ea, you know
from Philadelphia, came into the league. After my second year
in the league. Him and I had a lot of
battles man in practice and then throughout the league.

Speaker 3 (25:43):
Jared Allen, how.

Speaker 5 (25:44):
Special he was, aton know, to rush the passer like
all these guys have just unusually very very you know,
special special stories that will be told in Canton this summer.

Speaker 3 (25:55):
I'm looking forward to it.

Speaker 2 (25:56):
I totally agree with you, and it was great seeing him.
I was dead at night when he got the announcement.
Obviously his brother, you know, Shannon is my dog and
you know, and and just it was. It was real
emotional for them. But I've known Stirling for many, many years, man,
and he's a great, great guy. And people don't realize
what a great receiver he was when he was healthy.
It was Jerry Rice and it was him. People forget

(26:17):
that this was before Randy Moss. So everybody forgets that.
Last question for you, sticking with the Hall of Fame,
Travis Kelsey will be in the Hall of Fame without
question when he retires.

Speaker 1 (26:30):
Is it time for him? Do you believe it's time
for him? Or do you think that.

Speaker 2 (26:35):
After such a catastrophic loss yesterday, he's going to come back.

Speaker 5 (26:40):
No, I think he's gonna come back. You know, I
know him very well. He works out here in South Florida.
He came down here. I'm getting ready for the Combine
and he's been come back every year with the trainer
who worked out in gym I'm very familiar with. So
I look for him to use this as fuel. That's
what the great players do. He has no need to

(27:03):
look at any part of this season besides this game,
because there was no hint, there was no breath, there
was not even a stench that he had lost his edge.
Even given the high profile relationship that he's in, people
might question he's handled that strategically amazing and still playing
at a high level.

Speaker 3 (27:22):
No. I look for him to come back.

Speaker 5 (27:24):
But the thing about it is as you get older,
people exploit your weaknesses. One thing that Philadelphia last night,
they was not worried about him being a blocker. Right now,
him not being a dominant blocker the end of the
line of screamage. That's been a tremendous advantage. But as
you get older, they start, they start, they start honing
in on your fastball. They start making you do things

(27:45):
that you're not as comfortable doing. So that's something you
have to be able to manage. So I think they'll
keep growing that offense. They'll do some things that they'll
protect them. But I see him playing another.

Speaker 1 (27:55):
Two seasons, two seasons, not one.

Speaker 3 (27:58):
Two.

Speaker 5 (27:58):
I see him playing another two seasons when he starts
trying to go home and he ain't.

Speaker 3 (28:04):
Special, like it ain't nothing special he do like football.

Speaker 5 (28:07):
I know he's doing this podcast and all that, but hey,
there's a lot of pressure right there with the woman,
these agents.

Speaker 3 (28:12):
I don't think she gonna quit no time. So so
I keep going to work even.

Speaker 2 (28:17):
Cee see, I'll holler back at you, my brother, appreciate
all your contributions to the show during the football season.

Speaker 1 (28:23):
Man have to cap it out with you.

Speaker 3 (28:24):
Man.

Speaker 1 (28:24):
Thanks so much, Bro, you taking these there right?

Speaker 3 (28:26):
No, thank you for I love Bro, all love.

Speaker 1 (28:29):
Always coming up.

Speaker 2 (28:31):
It was not a good weekend for the Dallas Mavericks
as Anthony Davis went down with an injury.

Speaker 1 (28:36):
I'll get into all of.

Speaker 2 (28:37):
That, but first, more from Super Bowl fifty nine, specifically
halftime with Kendrick Lamar put on the show. You'll see
what I'm talking about. I know you're not getting that
yet you think it. I'm just thinking about the show.
There was a show within the show. I'll explain next

(28:57):
right here and Steve NISI show don't go away. This
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(29:19):
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The color Guard test.

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Speaker 1 (31:24):
Welcome back to Steven Theie Smith Show.

Speaker 2 (31:26):
I want to get back to the Super Bowl and
that halftime show we sew with Kendrick Lamar.

Speaker 1 (31:31):
This was the first time in Super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (31:33):
History that a hip hop artist was the headliner for
the halftime show, and in my opinion, Kendrick didn't disappoint.
The performance started with Samuel L. Jackson dressed as Uncle
Sam who introduced the Compton Rapper, who was surrounded by
dancers dressed in red, white and blue. Kendrick went on
to perform a thirteen minute mashup of some of his
biggest hits. Halfway through the performance, he was joined on

(31:55):
stage by Sissa, and the two performed Luther from GNA
and All the Stars from the Black Panther soundtrack. Towards
the end, Kendrick, of course didn't the smash hit Not
Like Us, the disc track for Drake, and in the performance,
Serena Williams, the contem native and Drake's one time roumored girlfriend,

(32:16):
can be seen krip.

Speaker 1 (32:17):
Walking on stage. I asked you all on my Twitter
page if you liked it, loved it, or hated it.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
Here's what you had to say, all right, but here
are my thoughts as well. You see that thirty nine
thirty five percent, thirty nine hated it, thirty nine percent
liked it, twenty six percent loved it. I went to
twenty six percent. I went to twenty six percent. First
of all, All the Stars are one.

Speaker 1 (32:39):
Of my favorite songs. Let me get that out the
way first. All right, says I like as an artist too,
and I love he and of voice that's troe to
But that's not why I'm of the twenty six percent.

Speaker 2 (32:49):
That's not why I'm giving this an A grade. I'm
gonna tell you why I'm giving this an A grade. Because
the brother played not like Us.

Speaker 1 (32:55):
That's why. That's what I wanted to see.

Speaker 2 (32:57):
You see the suspense that came with Kendrick Lamar's halftime
performance surrounded whether or not even gonna play that song.
We could sit up there in Bulljava, we want to,
But the fact of the matter is he won five
Grammys over a little over a week ago.

Speaker 1 (33:10):
Why did he win those five grammis? You know why
he won those five Grammys because or not like us.
That's why we can sit up there and and hangle
around it all we want to not like us. That
music had to be played.

Speaker 2 (33:21):
I wasn't sure he was gonna be allowed to play
the lyrics.

Speaker 1 (33:25):
I wasn't sure he was gonna be allowed to perform it.
I really really wasn't.

Speaker 2 (33:28):
But I said, there's no way on earth that he
could show up in New Orleans on Super Bowl weekend
for the halftime show.

Speaker 1 (33:36):
And not play that song. At least the music at
least to beat got to do it, got to do it,
but this brother went a step further.

Speaker 2 (33:50):
He teased it brilliantly, and he kept teasing it throughout
the performance, and then finally he.

Speaker 1 (33:56):
Was talking about worrying about getting sued and all of
this other stuff. So I had to watch some what
he said.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
But then he went ahead and performed a song that's
represent comforton.

Speaker 1 (34:05):
That's represent hip hop, that's representing himself, letting you know
he ain't budget, he gonna stand on what he's gonna
stand on. He meant what he said about Drake, and
if you are Drake, let me say this. I didn't
take size. All I've ever said is this, he got
you on this song. Drake is an incredible artist, but
all I.

Speaker 2 (34:22):
Said was he got you on this song. End of
the world of hip hop. You don't answer that with lawsuits.
You go into the studio and you make your own
record to one upper or you bow down and say
got me. Drake handed it a bit differently, a bit differently,
and because he handed it a bit differently, you had
a lot of people clamoring, salivating.

Speaker 1 (34:46):
For Kendrick Lamar to play that song now and finish
the war before Super Bowl Sunday.

Speaker 2 (34:56):
I had the pleasure of being on Good Morning America
Friday morning from New Orleans or New Orleans, Louisiana, sight
of the Super Bowl fifty nine, and Good Morning America
interviewed me about the Super Bowl and then the Kendrick
Lamar subject came up.

Speaker 1 (35:12):
I want to show you what I said before.

Speaker 2 (35:15):
Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance two days before, to be
exactly listen to if you're not doing not like because
you just won five Grammys in large part because of
the success of that one particular song, and we know
what kind of bru ha it created. Halftime arrived Sunday
evening and no one hears that song is going to
be a huge, huge disappointment. Is great and as phenomenal

(35:36):
as he is, not like us took him to another level.

Speaker 1 (35:40):
You have to at least play that beat.

Speaker 2 (35:42):
The crowd that's not not just on national television, but
in attendance has to hear that music from the song playing.

Speaker 1 (35:50):
But it has to happen.

Speaker 2 (35:51):
You're not expecting Drake on the stage. I'm not expecting
Drake in the country. I don't think he'll even be
in the United States.

Speaker 1 (36:04):
Yes, I said it, and sure enough. If the rumors
are correct, Drake wasn't in the country. Hell, he wasn't
even in his own country, Canada. That brother was in
Australia on tour. It don't matter how far away he was.

Speaker 2 (36:19):
However, it can't escape what Kendrick did to that brother.
He played the song, y'all, he spit the lyrics, and
then he was sideways and then he turned the camera
say Drake, remember that.

Speaker 1 (36:35):
That's what he did. And then after he did that, he.

Speaker 2 (36:37):
Took out the word pedophile, okay, because that's what got
the legal.

Speaker 1 (36:43):
Matters, you know, stirring per se.

Speaker 2 (36:46):
And then in the aftermath of all of that, he
sat up there and said a minor and damn it
sounds like they're tied. Damn crowd said.

Speaker 1 (36:55):
It with him. I mean, it's that's very very bad,
very very bad, very bad. Okay, But there's something that
y'all might have missed.

Speaker 2 (37:09):
Serena Williams is a compleem native, that's true. So her
doing the crip walk and her being on stage with
Kendrick Lamar on his face ain't not wrong with that.

Speaker 1 (37:20):
That's that's pretty damn cool. But she used to mess
with Drake. According to the reports.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
I mean, if we talk about Kendrick Lamar, is that
brother cold or what? That's not her brother to mess
with because that dude not only had Serena Williams.

Speaker 1 (37:37):
On stage dance it. She's a tennis star, by the way,
the greatest tennis star I ever lived. You understand her
saying she's a tennis star. Ain't a dancer.

Speaker 2 (37:44):
She's a tennis star, all right, but she crip walking
on stage.

Speaker 1 (37:47):
If that weren't bad enough, because she used to be
with Drake. They said Cecy used to be with him too,
So Drake, I'm sorry. Kendrick Lamar got both exes. I
understand celebrating him going after.

Speaker 3 (38:05):
Drake d.

Speaker 4 (38:11):
It's kind of harsh.

Speaker 2 (38:15):
And he closed it out with game over emblazoned for
the world to see inside and outside.

Speaker 4 (38:27):
The super Dome. It is game over.

Speaker 1 (38:34):
You know what I saw on social media yesterday. You
know how somebody.

Speaker 2 (38:39):
Dies and you see a photo of them sort of
sideways and in the photo it's their full name.

Speaker 1 (38:50):
With their date of birth and the day they passed away.
That was what they showed.

Speaker 4 (39:01):
About Drake.

Speaker 2 (39:05):
He gonna make his money, he gonna be successful. Drake
is a superstar. Drake is legit, no doubt about that.
But he will forever be synonymous with Kendrick Lamar for
all the wrong reasons, and that much is a fact
no matter what he does. As for Kendrick Lamar, he

(39:30):
also showed the world who he was closing out the
show in the fashion that says he ain't the one
to mess with.

Speaker 4 (39:43):
If you gonna do it, that's how you do it.

Speaker 2 (39:47):
That's why I'm out of twenty six percent that I
showed you earlier. I don't need another reason to get
that brother an ad for that performance.

Speaker 4 (39:59):
I'm just letting you no, I'm just letting you know.

Speaker 2 (40:03):
Coming up, Jake Paul gets pissed, Nate Robinson finally gets help,
and Anthony Davis goes down All that up next right here.

Speaker 4 (40:13):
He's stephen Ate Smithship.

Speaker 1 (40:18):
Welcome back to stephen A.

Speaker 6 (40:19):
Smiths Show.

Speaker 2 (40:20):
We're gonna get to a few headlines for the weekend
and caught my eye. Let's start in Dallas, Texas, all right,
where the Mavericks fans are really sick this morning after
news that Anthony Davis will be out several weeks with
an adductor strain. This is not what Mavick fans wanted
to say after Jim Nico Harrison traded away international superstar
Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis,

(40:42):
as a matter of fact, it's absolutely miserable. It's the worst
thing they could have seen. Anthony Davis came out, ladies
and gentlemen, in the first half like a monster. Came
out in the first quarter like a monster. I had
about twenty four and.

Speaker 1 (40:54):
Ten at a half.

Speaker 2 (40:55):
Okay, his brother was doing damage, reminding you what an
all star he wants looking at the fans in Dallas
saying I'm here, I'm here, busting Houston's You're living, you
know what, because he's that kind of player.

Speaker 1 (41:07):
The issue has never been Anthony Davis's.

Speaker 2 (41:09):
Skill, however, It's always been his health and his durability.

Speaker 1 (41:12):
And so when you.

Speaker 2 (41:13):
Combine that with the fact that Luka Doncic was six
years younger, and he is the international superstar, and here
is the twenty eight point per game scorer, and he
is the one that was traded away by the Dallas MAVs,
okay for Anthony Davis. And you go out there and
you play lights out, you wreak havoc until you get

(41:34):
hurt in the third quarter. It's exactly what Dallas fans
were fearful of. Nobody ever questioned the greatness of Anthony
Davis as a player.

Speaker 1 (41:42):
You question his durability.

Speaker 2 (41:44):
Remember Charles Barkley and the TNT crew made him famous.
They called them street clothes. And then you remember last
year played seventy six games. This year for the Los
Angeles Lakers. He wasn't missing too many games because he
got tired of hearing that label.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
Attached to his name.

Speaker 2 (41:58):
Street clothes, that's what they called them, because he was
always in street clothes. And you arrive in Dallas the
first game and you go down, and when you went down,
what did you do? You got up, you walked off
the court, and you looked at the media in the
locker room, and he said, it ain't that serious. Twenty
four hours later, is announced you're gonna be out probably

(42:18):
for the month, for about a month. See, that's the
stuff right there that has Dallas fans worried because you
can't really enjoy him because you're always.

Speaker 1 (42:29):
Wondering how long he's gonna last.

Speaker 2 (42:31):
Now is that fair that Anthony Davis at this particular
moment of time based on the level of production and
his availability over the last.

Speaker 1 (42:38):
Year and a half.

Speaker 2 (42:39):
No, But if you're the Dallas MAVs, their fan base,
Luca Dungeon is going and oh, by the way, twenty
four hours before Luca is the debut as a Los
Angeles Laker, that's when you get the news that Anthony

(42:59):
Davis gonna be for a month.

Speaker 1 (43:00):
So what if Luca comes out there for the Los
Angeles What if he starts dropping forty or fifty or
seventy like he's done before as the Atlanta Hawks. What
if he does that while.

Speaker 2 (43:14):
Anthony Davis is sitting on a bench of street clubes.
Could you imagine how hard it's going to be. I
will remind everybody. I say this with no pleasure, no glee.

Speaker 1 (43:22):
In my face.

Speaker 2 (43:22):
I think fans is short for fanatics for a reason.
I don't like it one bit. But there have been
reports that Nico Harrison security detail has been upgraded.

Speaker 1 (43:37):
It's been more intensified. He can't even sit in the
same seats he's the customer sitting in.

Speaker 2 (43:42):
Because of the heckling and the fact that they're this
is according to the reports, we need to keep him safe.

Speaker 1 (43:50):
That's how pissed off people are because they love Luke
in Dallas.

Speaker 2 (43:56):
And then you got the board of governor for the
Dallas Maths, Mister Dumont sitting there talking about Jordan and
Kobe and people like that, and Lebron ain't talking about
their work ethic, somebody that's committed every day to pursuing
excellency championships, basically implying that's not what Luca was about,
which is why.

Speaker 1 (44:14):
We moved his ass out of here.

Speaker 2 (44:19):
If Lucas shows up and shows out for the Lakers,
it's not gonna be cut.

Speaker 4 (44:28):
It's not gonna be good.

Speaker 8 (44:29):
Thompson, Dallas and Lord to help us if Luca when
Lebron makes a playoff run in the Western Conference and
Dallas is home.

Speaker 1 (44:42):
Oh Lord, oh Lord, it's not gonna be good. It's
not gonna be good.

Speaker 2 (44:51):
Not rooting against the Lakers, because that would be rooting
against Southern California, which I would never do because I
like to be there command you. I ain't apologize if
that's anybody, but I will say this, I don't wish
this on the Dallas Mavericks.

Speaker 4 (45:09):
That's an organization.

Speaker 2 (45:10):
I don't miss this on Nico Harrison as an individual.
I don't even wish it on the fans in Dallas.
I only got issues with.

Speaker 4 (45:18):
Cowboy fans, not MAVs fans. Just thought i'd tell you that.

Speaker 2 (45:25):
Now, let me get to some boxing news where Jake
Paul made headlines this weekend when he called out Canilo
Alvarez and a social media post gone viral. Paul took
the social media and accused the four division.

Speaker 1 (45:36):
Champion of ducking him.

Speaker 2 (45:38):
By choosing to sign a lucrative four fight a deal
for the RIDD season.

Speaker 1 (45:43):
All right, that was on Thursday.

Speaker 2 (45:45):
The first fight of that deal will take place on
May fourth and Saudi Arabia, where Alvarez will faced William
Skull for the undisputed super middleweight championship of the World. Now,
for those of you who didn't see the Jake Paul post,
Paul's for a second and take a look at this.

Speaker 9 (46:03):
Oh Canelo, you puta and this fucking jettube.

Speaker 1 (46:07):
I just fight Green Fighters.

Speaker 9 (46:09):
Tom to expose him. So we had a signed contract
to fight. Here you could see canelo signature and my
signature to the right claiming he's not fighting YouTubers.

Speaker 1 (46:17):
Bullshit.

Speaker 9 (46:18):
Look at the poster we were announcing Tuesday, February eleven,
claiming he fights real fighters, but he's fighting Crawford, a
one hundred and thirty five pound fighter, and running from
a real fighter like David Benavidez. You bitch, The truth
is you can be bought. You're a money hungry squirrel
chasing your next nut. The truth is these sports washing,
shady characters are paying you hundreds of millions of dollars

(46:38):
to stop our fight from happening because they couldn't fathom
the fact that they can't create a bigger fight than
me and you. Al Hayman has made you hundreds of
millions of dollars and you turned your back on him
for this check. Disloyal and you were begging to do
this fight on pay per view, But I have loyalty,
loyalty to Netflix doing the biggest numbers. And you call
me a YouTuber, but you've never had a boxing as

(47:00):
big as mine. Remember you told my team that your
daughter came home and asked if you were fighting Jake Paul.

Speaker 1 (47:05):
She was all excited.

Speaker 9 (47:06):
You said that was the first time your daughter's ever
asked you about a fight, And you're screwing over all
your Mexican fans By doing your fights in Saudi, it
just shows what type of person you are. And I
promise you one thing, Canelo, any fight that you do
this year, mine will be bigger.

Speaker 1 (47:19):
So go fuck off to your.

Speaker 9 (47:20):
Bus, you ring magazine employee, you pink an orange bitch,
and oh fix that herpie on your lip, your dirty POODA.

Speaker 4 (47:30):
Couple of things.

Speaker 2 (47:32):
Before I even say anything, let me just say sources
did tell ESPN at Alvarez and Paul were finalizing the
deal last week.

Speaker 1 (47:38):
To fight May third in Las Vegas.

Speaker 2 (47:40):
However, Alvarez reportedly changed his mind and completed a four
fight deal with Riad's Season, a move that effectively killed
the fight with Paul that was expected to land on Netflix.
A couple of things. Number One, Jake Paul. I like
Jake Paul.

Speaker 1 (47:59):
I like him a lot. I think that.

Speaker 2 (48:03):
He's brilliant with the marketing, highly professional by the way,
shows up honest's commitments. Deserves a lot of credit for
that number one. Number Two, he's great for the sport
of boxing because he shows you that you have the
ability to avoid being at the mercy of it. Promoters
who have hijacked boxing for too many decades, and they've

(48:26):
hurt the sport immeasurably. The UFC as great as it is.
The number one reason is so great is because of
Dana White. Because Dana White is per is committed to
giving the patrons the fights they wanna see when they
wanna see them, when they want to see them, and
promoters for boxing never do that for us these days.

(48:49):
So in that regard, Jake Paul deserves a lot of credit.

Speaker 1 (48:52):
He is to be respected. I like him.

Speaker 2 (48:55):
I hope to ultimately see him in a ring with
a big time boxer so we can really really see what.

Speaker 1 (49:01):
He's made of.

Speaker 2 (49:03):
Having said that, I think a couple of things are
excessive here. Number one, what kind of contract was that?
We don't know what kind of contract do was that?
Number Two? Talking about Canilo, Ducky or Jake Paul, you're
smart about.

Speaker 1 (49:21):
The fights you picked because they need to make money.

Speaker 2 (49:26):
Now that's not to say you weren't gonna make money,
because obviously you would. You and Canilo would have been
a big, big deal and it would have generated gobs
and gobs of money.

Speaker 1 (49:34):
That is absolutely true.

Speaker 2 (49:37):
But you fought basketball players, You fought strikers in the UFC,
you fought a.

Speaker 1 (49:42):
Fifty year old, you know, Mike Tyson.

Speaker 2 (49:47):
Yeah, the money was there, but it wasn't the toughest
matches in the world. Why you pick those fights because
you could make money without it being much of a risk.

Speaker 1 (49:57):
Well, if you're.

Speaker 2 (49:58):
Doing that, how you're gonna turn around and not Canilo
Alvarez for doing the same, especially working in a sport
that you yourself Jake Paul has called corrupt and abusive torts fighters. Now,
I understand you're upset, you're a little bit of salty
about Canillo using you to get a better deal from

(50:18):
Riod or you.

Speaker 1 (50:19):
Know, or him turning down a fight with you.

Speaker 2 (50:21):
But what you're attempting to do and what you have
done to some degree, Canillo Alvarez has done. He has
for a triple G. He has fort Mayweather, he has
for I mean, even though Charlo's undersize, he was a champion.
Terrence Crawford is a champion. By the way, he's not
one forty, he's not one thirty five, he's one forty seven.
And then his last fight I think was at one

(50:43):
fifty four. And oh, by the way, he would move
up a couple of weight classes. Now, I think Canillo
needs to be fighting David Benavidez as well. But he
did fight and knockout Covi Levet the light heavyweight spot.
He did fight and lose the Beval. He did fight
Triple G not once, not twice, but three times. So
when Canilo sits up there and says I fight fighters.

Speaker 1 (51:05):
He ain't lying. His reputation does speak for itself.

Speaker 2 (51:12):
So I can't sit up there and flow with you,
Jake Paul on that one, I'd love to see you
in the ring in a championship boxing match against a
real champion, But before that happens, money aside, just talking
about the purity of the sport, you should have to
fight some contenders. You really really should top ten contended

(51:36):
one or two of them would be nice.

Speaker 1 (51:39):
You should have to do that.

Speaker 2 (51:41):
This is Canilo Alvarez we're talking about here. You understand
you're supposed to be able to earn getting in the
ring with him.

Speaker 1 (51:52):
That's just me, ain't I know.

Speaker 2 (51:54):
Popularity matters, gate, money matters, marketing and all of this
other side.

Speaker 1 (51:59):
I got it. I totally get it.

Speaker 2 (52:01):
But speaking strictly about boxing, you're supposed to earn the right.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
To get in the.

Speaker 2 (52:07):
Ring with somebody. On that level, because Canillo is on
that level. Let's be very very clear and respectful enough
to say that joining me now to discuss this as
a man who's written about an opined on the sport
of boxing for both ESPN and USA today today, he's
the founder, the owner, the publisher of what was it
fight Freaks?

Speaker 1 (52:28):
Is that what it is?

Speaker 6 (52:30):
Fight free unit? On substancs to that?

Speaker 2 (52:32):
Please, got to let the audience know that the one
and only Dan Rayfield. What's going on, buddy?

Speaker 1 (52:35):
How you doing?

Speaker 6 (52:36):
Great? To be hout with you. I kind of figured
when this topic emerged we might be discussing it.

Speaker 1 (52:40):
Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (52:41):
I wanted to know your thoughts when you saw Jake
Paul going off showed the contract with the signatures on it.
Even though he did that relatively quickly, by the way,
I didn't get.

Speaker 1 (52:51):
The chance to really really see it. Nevertheless, that's what
he said.

Speaker 2 (52:54):
He's implicating that Canilo Alvarez signed to fight him. It
was supposed to happen, it was supposed to announce it
Are eleventh, but it did not end up happening.

Speaker 1 (53:03):
Your thoughts, your reaction to what you saw from Jake Paul.

Speaker 6 (53:06):
Well, Jake is upset honestly. But if you take a
look closely at.

Speaker 10 (53:09):
The document that he supposedly signed, that's supposedly the fight contract,
If you take a look at it closely, stephen A,
what it was was a confidentially a confidentiality agreement. It
wasn't a doubt agreement. It wasn't a let's sign for
the fight. This was here's what we're working on. And
then they take that so they can let the people
that they're trying to sell the fight to know that
they've got both sides on board. So that was maybe

(53:29):
a little fast and loose with the truth. But the
reality is Jake Paul wanted to fight Canelo Alvarez, and
I don't think that Canelo was really truly that interested
in the bout.

Speaker 6 (53:38):
That's been his sort of thing he's been saying all along.

Speaker 10 (53:41):
But I think what he did was he used Jake
Paul and the people at his company, MVP, to raise
the price that he was going to get from Turkey Alschek,
from Saudi Arabia, to do real fights, to do other
title defenses, to do with the fight with Terrence Crawford,
and that was used to sort of jack up the price.

Speaker 6 (53:57):
And if he didn't get the price.

Speaker 10 (53:58):
Yeah, maybe he would have gone through with it, but
Jake Paul felt that he was going to it feels
like he was aggrieved because Canelo has gone and done
a four fight deal with Turkey Alschk to bring his
talents to Saudi Arabia for three of those fights.

Speaker 2 (54:11):
That sounds like the latest dealings in the world of
boxing as far as I'm concerned. That's how business goes
from Tom to Tom. I can understand why Jake Paul
is a bit upset, but Canilo Alvarez is a four
division listen four different weight classes. This man is one
of the greatest in the game, arguably one of the
greatest ever in a lot of people's eyes, and to me,
him fighting Jake Paul would have made no sense whatsoever

(54:35):
for him outside.

Speaker 1 (54:36):
Of just money.

Speaker 2 (54:37):
Because Jake Paul, as much as I respect him and
what he's trying to do, hasn't earned the right to
be in the ring with Canelo Alvarez as far as
I'm concerned. How do you see that, Dan, Yeah, I.

Speaker 10 (54:48):
Don't disagree with that, but I think at the end
of the day, Canello Alvarez has secured a certain aspect
of his legacy. I don't think there's a lot more
left for him to do in terms of the legacy
that you mentioned. And so in terms of the overall
reason to do the fight with Jay Paul is about
the money. He's trying to put as much money in
the bank before now. You know, now in the end
of his career, Jake Paul is doing the same thing.
And they would have both made tremendous amounts of money

(55:10):
for this, but Jake Paul is.

Speaker 6 (55:12):
I respect them as well. I enjoyed Jake's.

Speaker 10 (55:14):
Events, interviewed him about his events, and I have nothing
but respect for what he's doing in terms of trying
to make himself a better boxer. But it's not at
the championship level boxing that Canelo Albers has been at
for the last more than a decade decade plus decade
and a half. And so to think about him going
in the ring with Jay Paul, whose only advantage is
his size, you know, obviously most people would look at

(55:35):
Canelo overs and say, look, you can get him out
of there easy.

Speaker 6 (55:37):
Now.

Speaker 10 (55:37):
At least in these fights, he's gonna be fighting actual
championship level boxers, maybe not superstars like his first fight
of this deal is against a very unknown fighter named
William Skull who picked up the vacant IBF belt that
Canello was forced to that was stripped of him because
he didn't fight the mandatory William Scull was totally unknown
and brought nothing to the table. Now he's gonna fight him,

(55:58):
but he's still an actual professional fighter with real fights
in his own weight class. So I get where Canelo
is coming from, and I get where Jake Paul is
coming from.

Speaker 1 (56:05):
Let's go let's go to Canelo for a second.

Speaker 2 (56:07):
I'll get back to Jake Paul in a minute, but
let's go to Canelo for a second. I mean, I
don't like I don't root against him. I respect the
hell out of him. I've interviewed him on a couple
of occasions. I know what a great fighter he is.
I know what he brings to the table. I've seen
him against Triple G obviously, against Mayweather, obviously, against Charlo
and others.

Speaker 1 (56:26):
We get that we's proven himself. Okay. The flip side
to it, however, is that there's.

Speaker 2 (56:31):
A guy by the name of David Benavidez out there,
the Mexican monster that's got to move up to light
heavyweight because Canilo won't give this guy a fight. As
a as an expert of the pugilistic sport that is boxing,
knowing what you know, how do you feel about Canelo
avoiding David Benavidez and how foreign foreign is it for

(56:53):
him to be avoiding David Benavidez.

Speaker 10 (56:56):
I mean being truthful, and I'm known as a Canelo guy, Stevendy,
But it's disappointed because that's the fight, that's the real
fight that fans, I think want to see. It's not
like there's not other fights they'd be interested. And sure
Terrence Crawford fight will interest a lot of people in
the mainstream because of all the history that goes with
it and where both those guys are in the sport.
But Benavidez has earned the opportunity. He clearly is a

(57:19):
top level fighter, whether it's in the super midiweight division
or the light heavyweight division. He's now fighting in the
light heavyweight division. Has made it very clear that where
his body is now after having now had two light
heavyweight fights a really outstanding performance a couple of weeks
ago against David Morrel, that he's not about to drop
back down to one sixty eight, So if Canelo will
ever agree to fight him, it's going to have to
be in the light heavyweight division, where Canelo, by the way,

(57:41):
has had two fights in the past, the spectacular knockout
to win a Wealth title against Sergey Kovolev, and he
got out boxed by Dmitri Bievo, who's a much different
style than the Navidi's. So I think that Canelo realizes, Look,
he's I won't say he's playing out the string, but
he's making more moves that are going to benefit his
bank account than perhaps to give him another loss on
his wreck. Taking on William Skull is not a big gamble,

(58:02):
even frankly taking on a Terrence Crawford, who's a great
fighter his own right, But the weight disparity is so great,
right that I don't think that he and his team
think it's that great of a risk. And then there's
two other fights on this deal, which I don't even
think are named in the contractor in the agreement, and
they'll be able to sort of pick and choose, So
he may be able to run the table on the
four fights. But David Benavidez poses a massive threat.

Speaker 6 (58:23):
He knows it. You know it. I know it. Anybody
who watches boxing knows it.

Speaker 2 (58:27):
How are we to feel about Canelo Alvarez fighting people
other than David Benavidez when they're smaller fighters, like, for example,
when he fought Charlo. Clearly he had to move up
two weight classes to fight Canelo. We knew he didn't
have the power to really fend off.

Speaker 1 (58:45):
Canelo.

Speaker 2 (58:45):
I was proud that he survived for crown out loud.
When I look at Terrence Crawford, I think Terrence Crawford
is a marvelous box arguably the best in the world
pound for pound. But can you hurt Canelo? If you
can't hurt I have no doubt he could outbox him.
My issue is, if you can't hurt him, what kind
of a challenge can you truly truly pos What do.

Speaker 1 (59:06):
You say to that?

Speaker 10 (59:07):
No, that's listen, that's a great point. I mean, here's
the thing. Sanelo Alvarez has a historically great chin. Now,
I go back way back when he first came to
the United States and started boxing, and he found himself
on an HBO pay per view under card years and
years ago fighting against the older brother of the great
Miguel Coto his name was Jose Miguel Cooto, and he
had gotten a ton of hype yet signed with Golden
Boy Promotions and a lot of those of us in

(59:28):
the media, and I had seen him a couple of
times before that. This is my first time seeing him
in person, really paying close attention. And he almost got
knocked out in the first round, and I remember steven
A almost looking around at media row going, what the
heck is this off? Like about this man? Can't take
a shot, He's gonna get drilled. He was lucky get
the fight was over. You know that the round was
over in round water, there might have been some much
more trouble steven A. That was like, I don't know,

(59:49):
sixteen seventeen years ago, I've never seen him wobbled rock
physically visibly hurt.

Speaker 6 (59:55):
Since then.

Speaker 10 (59:56):
He has an all time great chin going in the
ring with tremendous punchers Covi Levt, two fights with Gonnadi, Golofkin,
and plenty of other fighters. So you know, he has
the great chin. And like you mentioned, Ken, Terrence Crawford
coming up two weight classes do any damage. Yeah, he's
a slick boxer and he's also a good puncher. In
the welterweight division, in the junior welterweight division, in the
lightweight division, but even at junior middleweight, which is where

(01:00:18):
Terrence Crawford had his most recent fight back in August,
when he moved up and he won a world title.
He didn't blow the doors off. He fought a very tough,
solid opponent named Israel Majeiumov. He gave him a good fight.
It was very close, magine mows. People seem to think
he might have even been able to edge it out.
But if you can't hurt an Israel Maagimov at one
fifty four, what the heck are you gonna do with
Kenelo Albert is the sturdiest guy in the world at
one sixty eight, So that aspect of it is certainly

(01:00:40):
a problem. You mentioned about Charlot Charlo was there to
get his check. I know one thing about Terrence Crawford.
He's not gonna just come to turn up to get
the check. Hill at least tried, and Charlo, I don't
think really tried. There's a difference in mindset between Charlo
and Terrence Kraft, and.

Speaker 2 (01:00:56):
You and I have a slight different opinion about Sharlo.
Thing I think that shallow hit it. Challo hit this
man with a shot in the first or the second round,
and Canilo just walked right through him. And he said,
oh my god, I cannot hurt this guy. I need
to run for my life for the next ten rounds
to about That's what I saw.

Speaker 1 (01:01:14):
But I hear you loud and clear.

Speaker 2 (01:01:16):
Back to David Benavidez, since you brought his name up,
he wanted to fight against Morrell. I walked away more
impressed with Morell than I thought I would be.

Speaker 1 (01:01:26):
Because the kids got he could take a punch, he
could take he could he could.

Speaker 2 (01:01:30):
Really really take a punch. And I was very surprised
by that. And I was surprised that with the shots
that David Benavidez was hitting him with, that he couldn't
take him down. And then I said to myself, what
if he goes against and it's not before it's better beef.

Speaker 1 (01:01:45):
I'm a little bit worried about that.

Speaker 3 (01:01:47):
For day.

Speaker 1 (01:01:48):
For David Benavidez, what about you.

Speaker 10 (01:01:51):
David Moreau may not have been well known to the masters,
but certainly within boxing he's well known. He was a
great amateur coming out of Cuba, and he has accomplishment,
So don't be fooled by what the record was. Eleven
to zero going into the bout against Benabedes is a
really serious quality fighter and that was a really you
know matchup that a lot of people were excited for.
And so I wasn't surprised that David Merrell, you know,

(01:02:11):
gave him a good fight. I mean, I pick David
Benavides to win the fight for a lot of different reasons.
But you talk about the possibility of David Benavides facing
off against the winner. There's the rematch for the undisputed
title that takes place on February twenty second between Arthur
Better biev who was the undisputed CHAMPI and Dmitria Bievo,
who they fought at the end of last year and
it was a very close fight and that was to

(01:02:33):
unify the division. Turkey Alshik, who runs the show with
Saudi Arabians involved in the Boxing with Riann season, he
said he'd loved to see the winner of that fight
fight against David Benavidez. Now if there is a fact
that Beevo wins the rematch, He's also said maybe there'll
be a trilogy fight. But if Better BV is the winner,
and he also he invited David Benavidez to come to

(01:02:53):
their ringside and to check it out on February twenty second.
I think that's got a really interesting and good possibility
to happen. That would be a huge fight for David.
I would hope they would do that fight in the
United States. That's where David's got a lot of fans.
That would do probably quite a bit more in terms
of popularity, viewership, a per view, et cetera.

Speaker 6 (01:03:09):
That if it was taking place in Rihon.

Speaker 10 (01:03:10):
But you know, we're gonna see the best fight the
best if they can make that match, and David's up
for it, I mean, he'll fight it. You know, David Benabintez,
He's never turned anybody down. He'll fight whoever. And he's
on a really good run right now Andre and Caleb playing,
and then of course what he did against Wodzick when
he moved up and then this fight just a couple
of weeks ago in David Morrel.

Speaker 6 (01:03:28):
He's not looking at Duck anybody.

Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
Let me get back to Jake Paul before I let
you get on out of here. I really appreciate your time, Dan.

Speaker 1 (01:03:36):
Jake Paul.

Speaker 2 (01:03:37):
Listen, I respect him because he's his own promoter. He
shows that you don't have to be at the mercy
of promoters to make a fight happen, and I really
applaud what he's doing for the sport of boxing in
that regard. But as I've told him to his face,
I'm not being a hypocrite here. You gotta fight fighters,
and Mike Tyson at fifty eight years of age ain't

(01:03:59):
cutting it no more UFC strikers or basketball players that
ain't cutting it.

Speaker 1 (01:04:04):
You gotta get in the ring with some boxes.

Speaker 2 (01:04:07):
So while I listen, Canilo used them probably to up
the ante, to up the price on the back end,
and I get that part. The flip side to it is,
if your Canilo Alvarez, why should you allow somebody to
get in the ring with you who hasn't really fought
any contenders in the sport of boxing.

Speaker 1 (01:04:28):
To me, that's what Jake Paul has to do.

Speaker 2 (01:04:31):
So I understand his outbursts, which was the reason I
had you on, But in the same breath, I'm of
the mindset you kind of brought this on yourself because
you're trying to get a shot at the crown without
working through the process and fighting guys that are at
least contenders to that.

Speaker 10 (01:04:50):
You say, what, well, I think part of it's because
Jake knows that his events are big events. Regardless of that,
It's not like he's not working hard. He's not really
cutting the la because if other people didn't want to
watch his events, he would be in that position. Because
he's got a certain popularity and he brought in I mean,
he looked at the Tyson fight that he had on Netflix.
They did gargantuan numbers, brought up all kinds of subscriptions.

(01:05:13):
That was the plan. So he has that in his
back pocket. He brings money, and he brings notoriety and
a lot of eyeballs to his events. Whether you think
he's put in enough work in the gym to make
himself into a quote unquote real fighter.

Speaker 6 (01:05:26):
Now, if you step back prior.

Speaker 10 (01:05:28):
To the Tyson fight, you know that he did have
dude to one fight against the BKFC fighter in Mike Perry,
but that was because Tyson was dealing with his illness
and they had a postpone the fight. But prior to
that fight, he actually did take a step back. I
was sort of happy about this he fought like actual boxers,
not big names, but guys that maybe had quality amateur

(01:05:50):
backgrounds that were of around the same level of professional experiences.
In as he said to me in some interviews, I'm
trying to build up myself as a fighter to get
the reps in, to get in the experience.

Speaker 6 (01:06:00):
Here's the problem.

Speaker 10 (01:06:02):
Those fights did not do big business, so he's kind
of stuck between a rock and a hard place. He
can fight those developmental fights, but nobody gives a dart
about him, and.

Speaker 6 (01:06:09):
They don't bring in the kind of money.

Speaker 10 (01:06:11):
So he's going to be fighting these bigger names, whether
it's MMA guys or boxers who maybe are past their best,
or try to lure a Canelo win who maybe is smaller,
because that's where the money is and the fans flock
to it. How could you take a guy who's fighting
Iron Mike Tyson and does gazillions of viewers on Netflix
and say, well, now you should step back and fight
a guy in an eight rounder that nobody ever heard of.

(01:06:31):
I understand the predicament he's in.

Speaker 2 (01:06:33):
I definitely respect that, and I appreciate that perspective as well,
because that makes sense. This is the money business. Trying
to make as much money as you possibly can.

Speaker 6 (01:06:41):
Steven as prize fighting.

Speaker 1 (01:06:42):
It's prize fighting, no doubt about it.

Speaker 2 (01:06:43):
But last thing, I'll say this much because I get
where he's coming from.

Speaker 1 (01:06:48):
So where does he go from here?

Speaker 2 (01:06:50):
Because my mentality is, Okay, you want to make the money,
you definitely want to do that.

Speaker 1 (01:06:55):
You don't want to do things.

Speaker 2 (01:06:56):
And I applaud Jake Paul by the way, because he
promotes the hell out of his fights, he shows up
his commitments. He's more professional than a lot of the
professionals in that regard.

Speaker 1 (01:07:04):
I givehim a lot of credit for that.

Speaker 2 (01:07:06):
But what are we to make of his future now
that he said what he says, particularly when he says,
I promise you I will generate more money. My events
will be bigger than Canelo Alvarez. I'm not so sure
about that. Dann Rayphiel to that you say, what.

Speaker 10 (01:07:22):
Yeah, I mean, Look, he's already played the Tyson card
that that happened and it was huge. Canelo obviously is
not happening. That would have been big, whether people loved
it or not. There would have been a massive amount
of people, for perverse reasons, perhaps interested in it, and
so now you say, who else can he fight? He's
fought all kinds of former MMA or you know, M
and A guys crossed over to boxing.

Speaker 6 (01:07:40):
I just don't know the answer.

Speaker 10 (01:07:41):
I mean, he is there another famous boxer that's looking
to come out of retirement to fight him that would
actually move the needle? You know, I don't know about that.
I mean, was he gonna get Oscar de la Hoya
to come out of retirement? I mean, or Floyd Mayweather?
I doubt that. So the one, the one name that's
out there. Then he's brought it up, and I mean
it would be a big event. I would personally not
I like to see it. He's talked about Connor McGregor.

Speaker 6 (01:08:02):
I mean that, Oh lord, I'm just talking about that.
I mean, that's where we're at here, Steveny, What can
I tell you?

Speaker 2 (01:08:07):
I mean that, I mean, come on, I mean they
I will say this, nobody would eclipse them promotionally.

Speaker 1 (01:08:13):
That I will admit nobody would. It would would eclipse
them promotionally.

Speaker 2 (01:08:18):
But outside of that, when it gets down to the
beer bones of a real fight, now, I'm not feeling that,
not at all. Dann ray Filer Dann ray Field obviously
fight freaching. Not appreciate you, buddy. Thank you so much man.

Speaker 6 (01:08:29):
You bet Steven anytime.

Speaker 2 (01:08:30):
All right, before we go, I want to send some
well wishes to form a New York Knicks guard and
Slam dunk champion Nate Robinson. Prayers were finally answered for
Robinson last Friday, when he received a new kidney at
the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. Robinson
first learned his kidneys weren't functioning properly nearly twenty years

(01:08:54):
ago while playing for the Knicks. He was told then
that he would one day need a transport again. That
happened on Friday, and here's what he posted on Instagram
right before.

Speaker 1 (01:09:05):
The surgery last week.

Speaker 2 (01:09:07):
Quote, I'm here to celebrate and thank the Lord for
all he has done in my life. Today is the
day I get my new kidney. Thank you to all
the people that sent prayers and texted my phone giving
me encouragement and love.

Speaker 1 (01:09:23):
End quote. Can't say how happy I am for him.

Speaker 2 (01:09:26):
It was real painful to watch him on social media
when he was doing an interview and it aired all
over social media where he said he needed a kidney
transplant and he was questioning whether or not he would
be able to capture one. So for him to finally
receive that transplant and to see for him to seem
on the path to good health, what more can you say.

(01:09:47):
I'm just happy for him, I really really am. That's
it for this edition of the Steven they Smith Show.
Hope y'all enjoyed it. Thanks again to Dan Rayfield, Thanks
again to my man Chris Carter. Thanks to everybody that
contributed to the Super Bowl. Because Kendrick Lamar did his thing,
I know I feel that way. Eagles damn sure did
that thing. Jalen Hurts did his thing as well. Thanks

(01:10:10):
to everybody. Until next time, Everybody's stephen Ate side and off.

Speaker 4 (01:10:14):
Piece of luck.