Stephen A. Smith on Why He Was FIRED & Choosing Crawford over Canelo

Stephen A. Smith gets candid about the ups and downs of his career – from being laid off by ESPN to coming back stronger than ever and running the show. He breaks down why he’s picking Crawford over Canelo and shares the story behind the best interview of his life. Packed with raw insight and untold stories, this one shows a side of Stephen A. you’ve never seen. Chapters: 00:00:00 - Intro & Why SAS Can't Run from Interviews 00:01:40 - SAS on His Daughters & Viral Family Moments 00:05:01 - Growing Up in Queens & Learning to Handle Criticism 00:07:05 - Early Memories of Queens & Lessons from His Mother 00:09:47 - Losing His Mother, Grieving During the Finals & Therapy 00:13:42 - Finishing the Finals After His Mom’s Death & Her Life Lessons 00:17:33 - Overcoming Dyslexia & Proving Everyone Wrong 00:22:25 - Advice for People with Learning Disabilities & Betting on Your Passion 00:27:33 - Learning from the Greats & Debating Dre Ringside 00:29:44 - Fear of Losing, Floyd Mayweather & the Fighter’s Mentality 00:35:57 - Tyson vs. Paul, Respect for the Fight Game & Jake Paul Conversation 00:37:09 - A Complicated Relationship with His Father & Defining Fatherhood 00:44:50 - Why SAS Thinks His Father Rejected Him & Lessons from Good Times 00:50:57 - Forgiving His Father & Eulogizing Him After His Death 00:59:57 - Falling in Love with Basketball & Clearing Up the 2 ppg Meme 01:02:41 - SAS Responds to Trolls & Staying Focused on Ascending 01:07:35 - Knee Injury, Journalism Dreams & Keeping a Promise to His Brother 01:13:01 - Landing the ESPN Job & the Best Interview Ever 01:20:33 - SAS’ Sharp Style & Being the Best-Dressed in Sports 01:28:43 - Laid Off, Rehired & Launching First Take with Skip Bayless 01:36:57 - Max Kellerman Era, Staying #1 & 30 Years in the Business 01:41:46 - Getting Dropped by ESPN & Becoming a Business Owner 01:46:09 - Life as a Celebrity: Fame, Perks & Privacy Issues 01:50:36 - SAS Picks Crawford to Beat Canelo by Decision 01:52:36 - Wrap-Up Listen on audio: Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/2zgtdAG... Follow AOW on social: Instagram -   / allthesmoke   Follow Andre:   / andresogward   TikTok -   / andreward   X - https://x.com/andreward Watch our other shows: Morning Kombat -    / @morningkombat   Ring Champs -    / @ringchampspodcast   All The Smoke -    / @allthesmokeproductions   KG Certified -    / @kgcertified   Forgotten Seasons -    / @forgottenseasonsnba