Transcripts For CNNW Smerconish 20150502

Here it is, the front page of Baltimore Sun including your byline. The question i wanted to ask, were you as floored by the rest of the country about those charges having been brought yesterday . Absolutely. Everything about yesterdays announcement was surprising. Theres become an expectation that these kinds of cases take months, very deliberately gather the evidence and can take up to three months. The Police Department has set an aggressive timetable, two weeks. Some said it was an artificial timetable, that some of the even the preliminary work wouldnt be done by this if states attorney herself said im not going to be bound by the police timetable. And yet on the same day that police said they were going to wrap their investigation, she announced charges against all six officers which in and of itself is something we have not seen before in these type of cases. She did not allege that this was a deliberate rough ride. Theres still a lot unknown about what the allegations are. I feel like we still dont really know how mr. Gray died what caused it. Shes saying that the negligence of the officers is certainly the cause of the death, and she went with high level charges, manslaughter, murder. She also applied some of our constitutional statutes about false imprisonment. Eighth amendment. In a very unique way. Theres a veteran attorney in town dwight petit, hes seen a lot of these cases. Hes never seen that before in maryland. She said the initial arrest should not have been made but in the sequence of events this is largely a case about what police did not do as compared to a case of what they did do. In other words, they didnt belt him in. They didnt respond when he made pleas for medical assistance. Yeah. And shes alleging that negligence rises to criminal negligence, that they caused this death. For all six to be charged i think was definitely a shock. I think the rumblings out of the Police Department prior to this were that we might see minor charges against a few of the officers. To see all six charged very serious offenses. The response from the fop is to say, hey, that edict relative to belting a suspect in in the back of a police van, brandnew. And word might not have filtered down to rank and file Law Enforcement. Have you done any reporting or has the sun done any reporting on that particular issue . I think theres an expectation in the Police Department that when protocols are broken that will be handled internally. I think thats where a lot of the shock on the police end is coming from. Again, they feel this is a rushed case because they havent seen charges brought this quickly. I think theres a major shock wave going through the Police Department. I think thats what ms. Mosby was going for. I think she wanted to send a message in this case and to officers across the country. You have a lot of new followers on twitter. Im one of them. You tweeted this week, 17 shot, 6 fatally in nonprotests since the arrival of the guard. Yeah. You know, im a Crime Reporter in baltimore. I cover crime wherever it happens. And ive been struck by the fact theres so much attention on the protesters, so much attention on city hall, on our inner harbor, and away from this with all of these thousands of troops in the city, our gun violence has spiked. Its not the Police Department has had press conferences saying theres no protest related violence. We had protests related to ferguson, related to other incidents throughout this city with massive numbers of people. They have always been peaceful. I think what we saw monday was something else. That was not protest related. That was a very unique, organic situation. And again, meanwhile, away from all of this, weve seen more than six people killed. Final question. Is the presence of Law Enforcement at this stage, the national guard, doing more harm than good to this community . Do you think they serve as a magnet for individualing who want to come of and protest and in some circumstances want to take it in an ugly direction . Thats been a real point of controversy i think with residents. I think what weve seen is calm. Some would say its calm because theyre here. Others say they are not necessary. Things are going well. This is not necessary. This curfew is a major point of contention. With a Ripple Effect. I went to dinner last night. I was the only person in a restaurant that otherwise would have been bustling, and then it hit me the Ripple Effect on businesses in this community has been enormous. Yeah. We opened a casino in the fall, a 24hour casino. It closed for first time once this curfew started. Theres a very popular bar in fells point neighborhood who said their business is down 95 . What a shame. All throughout the city people are very upset about the curfew and questioning whether its necessary. Justin, thank you so much. Great job on the reporting and great job by the sun. Let me bring in cnn legal analyst and criminal defense attorney mark omara. Mark, how would you defend these cops if you were asked to do so . Well, with the premise that its like planning a surgery when you dont have the blood tests or the xrays. One thing were going to look at is to say that these cops were simply doing their job, may not have done it very well, but they were doing their job. And as you mentioned a moment ago, what theyre being charged with is not doing something. Thats a much more difficult standard for the prosecutor to present. Now, i think she was very aggressive in how quickly she did this and also the charges she filed, particularly the one against the driver. I think that she has shown us one or two of her deck of cards but theres got to be some information in there that tells us or will tell us more about the driving pattern. Because to separate him out from the rest of the group and their negligent behavior by not providing care, not doing what they should have as caregivers, the driver stands alone with this most serious charge. Its got to be because he was in control of the vehicle. I think were going to find out about the driving pattern from gps data and whatnot as the days progress. Mark, just steps from where im standing now across the public green is where Marilyn Mosby yesterday announced these charges. And she said these words to the people of baltimore, ive heard your call of no justice, no peace. I would think that a defense attorney such as yourself, a skilled defense attorney like mark omara, would seize upon those words and say, youre following the public sentiment, not necessarily the evidence. Your thought . Exactly right. Heres the problem. She is not allowed to, she is not supposed to, be prosecuting individuals because of the social ill. And shes got to be very careful what line she or the tightrope that shes on. She has now made herself a National Spokesperson for the inequities in the criminal justice system. Thats okay. But, as to these six individuals, she stands up in front of a public camera and says i will prosecute these people on behalf of the injustices, and shes looking at potential recusal. Shes certainly looking at arguments that she is doing it for reasons outside of a particular application of criminal law. So she needs to be very, very careful about the balance shes running. You represented George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case. In that case, many legal experts from the outside looking in said there was overcharging in that circumstance. Was there overcharging in this case as far as you can determine today . Well, you know, in the zimmerman case, i think that the prosecutor i and other people believe that she overcharged it to sort of quell the concerns that she had with the Africanamerican Community because it was an election year. And that turned out to be true. In this case, i think the prosecutor took a very aggressive stance in charging six cops. Now, look at it from the outside. She said six out of six cops are guilty of a crime. Thats extraordinary. And to do that, i think, is a true statement. She needs to be very careful. I think shes allowed to be aggressive in her prosecution. Thats what shes done. And shes given herself a lot of room to negotiate with some of the lesser charged, even maybe for the most serious charged individual to plea him down. But it is, again, a very delicate balance. These are the most aggressive charges in the quickest time i ever could have considered. Do you think that really the objective at this stage from Marilyn Mosby is to get them to turn on one another . You know, we have a tendency from the outside looking in to think that these six individuals, these six police officers, know each other well and work with one another on a daytoday basis. That might not be the case. My understanding is its, in fact not the case, that they are not part of some particular squad. And, yes, prosecutors i was a prosecutor for a couple years. It is in our quiver to take one codefendant or a couple of codefendants to testify against the others. So you charge everything you possibly can, separate them out. Dont forget these are going to be six separate trials most likely because the codefendants are at some point going to start blaming each other rather than themselves. So what shes going to do is divide and attempt to conquer by having a couple of those lessercharged codefendants built in. One thing we dont have yet is a witness saying exactly what happened, how it happened, and why it happened. And that can come literally from the mouth of one or two of the cops who were there. Mark omara, thank you, as always. Coming up, so much more to get to on all of this. The video of the baltimore mother dragging her son out of the riots has become an iconic image of the unrest. Shes even being called a hero. But not everybody is praising her actions. Ill speak to one journalist who says we shouldnt be celebrating the beating of a black child. Plus, royal baby watch finally over. Prince william and kate have welcomed a baby girl. Well head to london for all the details. And two of boxing biggest superstars are getting ready to duke it out tonight. Well preview the big matchup between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Larry merchant will join me. Welcome back. The aftermath of freddie grays death and several incidents like it highlight the issue of mass incarceration in this country. The numbers are staggering. Last week, economist Justin Wolfers was here explain that 1. 5 million africanamerican men are missing from daily life either due to premature death or incarceration. This week, Hillary Clinton called for a Major Overhaul in the prison system pleading for change. When we talk about 1. 5 million missing africanamerican men, were talking about missing husbands, missing fathers, missing brothers. Theyre not there to look after their children or to bring home a paycheck. And the consequences are profound. Its time to change our approach. Its time to end the era of mass incarceration. We need a True National debate about how to reduce our prison population while keeping our communities safe. And while some are pushing for less incarceration, others say that the move will only lead to more crime. Joining me now is author heather mcdonald. This week she wrote a piece for the New York Post titled the perilous new push to excuse lawlessness lawlessness. In it she says the criminal justice pendulum is swinging against personal responsibility and toward the use of race and poverty for use of noncompliance with the law. Heather joins me now. Heather, you know its been bandied about this week that we have 5 of the worlds population and 25 of the worlds prison population. Should we be proud or embarrassed of that statistic . Well, we should obviously not be proud but we should be most concerned about the lawabiding residents in poor communities that need the police, that are victimized by crime at rates that are much higher than in major cities in the rest of the world. What were seeing now is that every police killing, the highly publicized Police Killings over the last nine months, have been leveraged to argue for depolicing, for less enforcement in areas that have a disparate impact on blacks. That is going to hurt the very people whom the advocates purport to represent. I cant go to a Police Community meeting in harlem or the south bronx and not hear requests like the following, we want the dealers off the corner, you arrest them and theyre back the next day. Theres kids hanging out on my stoop smoking marijuana. Why cant you arrest them for loitering . I met an elderly cancer amputee in the mt. Hope section of the bronx who was terrified to go into her lobby to pick up her mail because of the youth hanging out there trespassing. She said, please, jesus, send more police. The only time she felt safe was when the police were there. Theres a very, very bad history of policing and racism in this country that is our shame, something that we will never get over. Police were instrumental in maintaining jim crow and slavery. And every act of Police Brutality is a travesty, a miscarriage of justice, and we need to constantly be vigilant against police abuse. But the bigger problem facing the inner city today is black crime. We could get rid of every use of force tomorrow, both justified and unjustified, and we would have almost no impact on the black death by homicide rate because the black homicide rate is so high. 1. 5 million africanamerican men 25 to 54 in this country missing, either dead prematurely or incarcerated. In the city where i stand now, that figure is 19,000. The Ripple Effect of having so many behind bars means that the children of those 19,000 are being raised without a dad in the house. I think its incorrect to blame imprisonment for that. The fact is that parents are not being responsible for their children to begin with. And what has liberated cities like new york city is proactive policing that has gotten criminals off the streets and has allowed the lawabiding residents to flourish, to go outside at night, to be able to go to the store and get their groceries, not have to worry about being mugged. The fact is that the people in prison today are there overwhelmingly for Violent Crimes and property crimes. And its a very prison remains today a Lifetime Achievement award for persistence in criminal offending. You know, its very hard to get a prosecutor to actually bring felony charges and go forward with a case. Again, its the people that want to follow the law that are most hurt when the police are unfairly demonized. This isnt to justify Police Brutality. But theres people who need the police and inevitably want more police in their communities because they see that they are the line against anarchy. Heather, this week i know you know this the Brennan Center for justice released a book. Its a book of essays that im holding in my hand. Essays from the likes of president clinton, joe biden, chris christie, Hillary Clinton ted cruz, mike huckabee, rick perry, rand paul marco rubio. Its hard to tell the rs from the ds because all of them seem to be striking a similar chord to talk about the need for less incarceration. I have just 30 seconds. Heres the question for you. Is 2016 going to be the year where candidates run on platforms where they are soft on crime . It well may be. And i think that is, again, putting at risk the very feel people who need the police most and want more policing. I yet to see an example of racist criminal justice system. The fact is criminologists have been looking for instances of racism for years, and they cant find it. People are going to prison because they commit crimes. The real issue is, lets get the black family and all families back together again so kids can be raised by their fathers. That will bring the crime rate and the prison rate down. Heather macdonald, thank you. Thank you michael. Coming up, the baltimore mom who has been seen everywhere hitting her son in the midst of the riots sparking major backlash for her actions. Some people are calling her a hero. Well get both sides of that debate. And shes here. The royal family welcomes a baby girl. Well take you to london for the very latest. music throughout one coat coverage, one coat guaranteed, one happy couple. Marquee, behrs most advanced paint and primer, only at the home depot. He says shes an undisciplined overwaterer. She claims hes a cruel underwaterer. With miraclegro moisture control potting mix, plants only get water when they need it. Fight ended. Or shifted . Miraclegro. Life starts here. Female announcer sleep trains interest free for 3 event ends sunday. Its your last chance to get three years interestfree financing on beautyrest black, Stearns Foster Serta Icomfort even tempurpedic. Plus, get free delivery, and sleep trains 100day low price guarantee. But hurry sleep trains interest free for 3 event ends sunday. Guaranteed sleep train your ticket to a better nights sleep welcome back. By now youve seen the video of the angry mother smacking her son who was rioting in baltimore this week. The video of toya graham quickly went viral with many online calling her mother of the year. But not everybody was quick to call her actions heroic. Joining me now is stacey patton. Shes a journalist who says toyas actions only make children more vulnerable to violent behavior. This week she wrote an oped for the Washington Post which was titled why is america celebrating the beating of a black child . Almost, here is congressman bobby rush. He praised toyas actions on the house floor saying, more africanamerican mothers need to take control of their children. Beside me today is an image that many across the nation have seen the image of a strong black mother giving her son what i would call a love whooping to snatch him back from the grips of senseless violence that is currently plaguing the city of baltimore, maryland. Stacey patton and congressman bobby rush both joining me now. I heard from radio callers all week long similar sentiments to those that were expressed by congressman rush on the floor of the house. What are they missing . Theyre missing the point that whipping a child, being violent with a child, is not going to do a whole lot to stem the sociological problems that theyre citing, violence in the streets. Young people ending up in jail. All the science that we have yet, 50 years of science, that shows that when you physically discipline children it amps up, you know, aggressive behavior, it drives juvenile delinquency underground. So youre actually putting children at risk for committing the kinds of behaviors that youre trying to prevent through violence. But yours was not just a Corporal Punishment argument. I read it very carefully. You say it puts the onus, the focus, on young africanamerican men and overlooks the drivers of that bad behavior. Yes, it does. A lot of people are celebrating toya grahams actions because it confirms for them, see, black children just need more whippings. That if we get more people to stay home and hit their kids, then thats going to solve everything. And it obscures the fact that she is parenting under a sociological condition that makes her violence and her fear directed at her son necessary in the first place. Congressman, react to that, if you would. I know that next weekend is mothers day, and you would like individuals to wear yellow ribbons in celebration of that mother that we saw in baltimore. Well, i certainly would like for women to celebrate by wearing yellow ribbons because i think that what toya brown did was really very courageous. She stepped in the midst of harm in harms way, and snatched her son out of harms way. Now, i think if we want to focus in on the actual whipping, then that will what i call the love whipping, that would be missing the point that i am trying to make. The point that i am trying to make is that if were going to deal with the violence that occurs day by day in our own community, the only thing that remains for us to do, weve marched every week, weve had all kinds of vigils, all kinds of outcries, all kinds of other programs. The only thing thats left for the victims of this march is for mothers to organize themselves into a body, into an entity, and begin to take back the streets themselves. The power of motherhood is a power that has not been utilized significantly in this effort to create a nonviolent society, nonviolent community. And im telling you that the power of mothers is there. Its intense. Nobody can react to the primal scream of a mother whose son or a daughter but primarilys whose son is suddenly killed and pronounced dead. That primal scream is a scream that no other human being can utter. Ive heard it myself. All right. Ive seen others scream in the same manner. And that primal scream is the essence of the power. I think that what ms. Brown was attempting to do, she wasnt dealing with any scientific factor some other kind of theory. She was just trying to snatch i think what youre saying is not so much that youre devaluing the role of motherhood but, rather, there are other factors at play here and thats not just get caught up on what mom was doing. Exactly. See, heres the thing. You cant fight violence with more violence. You cant fight oppression with more oppression. You know, i hear a lot of talk about how this mothers actions were about keeping him safe. But the irony is all week long weve been hearing calls from, you know, the president , from city officials, from activists, from clergy saying stop the violence, stop the violence. But then we see this clip of a mother wailing on her son and we applaud it. And the violence is the hitting a child is not going to save them from being beaten by the police or killed or even from jail. The statistics and the names of the dead bear this out. What would you say to a critic of your piece who says, well youre giving absolution to young africanamerican men who do step out, who are violent, who are breaking the law . Theres got to be an element of personal responsibility here for them. So i think theyre projecting something that i havent written on the page. Im not giving absolution to it but i certainly understand. You know, dr. King said, you know a riot is the language of the unheard. Weve had decades and decades of hopelessness and disenfranchisement. And youre dealing with young people whose brains arent completely formed yet, who are fueled by testosterone. These are young people who are traumatized who are day to day being told that their lives dont matter. And people arent listening to them. People arent investing in their lives. So what else is there to do but to pick up a rock . I understand the violence. Im not saying, you know, we should go burn down our communities and be violent. But i definitely understand. Do you think theres more acceptance by the way, we lost congressman bobby rush. I just dont want folks to think im being disrespectful by not including him. Do you think theres a racial divide on this issue . When i take telephone callers to my program i sense that theres more acceptance in the Africanamerican Community of Corporal Punishment than there is say, among suburban whites. I saw this from the Adrian Peterson case when he famously said that he utzed a switch on his son. I dont think theres a racial divide. Statistics show 90 of americans, you know, agree with some form of Corporal Punishment or theyve used it. I think there is a racially inflected tone to how we talk about it. It seems that africanamericans are sort of prompted up as the emblems of people who are you know, brutalizing their children. Heres where there is also a racial divide, in terms of, you know the disproportionate prosecutions for child abuse. Africanamericans are much more likely to be arrested, charged, and imprisoned for abusing their kids compared to whites and also the rates of foster care placement. You know, black children are more likely to be placed in foster care as a result of abuse. I thought your piece was great. I just will tell you that day one, like many others, when i saw the video i was of the way to go mom mindset. Then your piece hit the Washington Post 24 hours later and i found myself saying, wait a minute, you know, theres more here to be thinking about. Definitely. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate you being here. Coming up, black lives matter. Thats been the rallying cry of protesters following the deaths of several africanamerican males at the hands of police. A former Baltimore Ravens player joins me to give us his take on whether institutionalized racism played a role in their deaths. And tonight is the night. Its being called the fight of the century. Mayweather versus pacquiao, two of the biggest names the sport has ever seen. Im going to get a reaction from a man whos already gone toe to toe with one of tonights stars. You heard him. You never give me a fair shake. Hbo needs to fire you. You dont know [ muted ] about boxing. Youre not [ expletive ]. I wish i was 50 years younger. To instantly add volume to your cheek area. As you age, cheeks can lose volume. Voluma adds volume creating contour and lift for a more youthful profile. For up to two years. Temporary side effects include tenderness, swelling, firmness lumps, bumps, bruising, pain redness, discoloration and itching. Ask your doctor. Juvederm voluma®. Defy gravity. Meet the worlds newest Energy Superpower. Surprised . In fact, america is now the worlds number one natural gas producer. And we could soon become number one in oil. Because Hydraulic Fracturing Technology is safely recovering lots more oil and natural gas. Supporting millions of new jobs. Billions in tax revenue. And a new century of American Energy security. The new Energy Superpower . Its red, white and blue. Log on to learn more. George johnson can not fly. He can not see through doors. His speed, anything but superhuman. But when it comes to health care options, george found helpful information and resources at aarphealth. Com this makes him feel unstoppable. Well, almost unstoppable. Discover real possibilities at aarphealth. Com today and tomorrow take on the world. Welcome back. Freddie grays death has reignited the debate of policing in the minority communities. Protesters in baltimore and across the country chanting black lives matter once again brought forth the term institutionalized racism, the idea that social institutions like Police Departments give negative treatment to people based on their race. My next guest agrees. He says theres an inherent flaw in the way that things are done and disproportionately affects poor people and black people. Brendon ayanbadejo, played for the Baltimore Ravens, lives in baltimore, and youre getting an mba at johns hopkins. Good for you. Thats correct. Where does personal responsibility begin and end . Where does institutional racism begin and end . People seem to confuse the two. Its really hard to say. I think its kind of meshed together at this point. The bottom line is that institutional racism really involves differential access. When i say access im talking about access to an education, opportunities, goods and services that are provided. Its hard to say exactly where personal responsibility starts and the systemic issues that have flawed the system actually make it difficult for people to assume the levels of responsibility wed like to see. So we saw this in an illustration i think this week with how individuals regarded the looters. You had the president and the mayor both regard them as thugs. The mayor walked back those words. As far as i know, the president did not. Who was right and who was wrong . I think that what weve come to this point now where the word thugs and animals has kind of replaced the n word to some degree. I know this is a hot thing, people saying that. To me when i look at crowds in a mob, the content and the color of that mob really does have an affect on the words and adjectives people use to describe that mob. The bottom line is that when youre looting and burning things and theres violence, no one condones that. But i dont like the fact that we see different words used to describe the mob in the crowd based on the color of the crowd. Thats the issue i have. Heres the sun today, right . Six charged. Is that enough for the community . In other words, is this in and of itself justice, or if there are acquittals of these six cops are we going to see this all over again . I mean, if we see an acquittal, i think were going to have a problem. Baltimore is a unique city. The black population here is upwards of 60 . You know, in South Carolina when you look at what happened with the situation down there, what happened in cleveland, and i think Trayvon Martin is really the wick on the candle that started all of this. In certain areas around the u. S. You might be able to get away with certain things like this but baltimore is not a place you can get away with it at. This can be the epicenter of change. We need to change the system from top to bottom. The way we handle criminality in the u. S. , based on the sheer numbers, the data and i hate to go this route, but the bottom line is Global Warming is not a debate anymore. Institutional racism cannot be a debate anymore. We have to have a real discussion about it. People cant have visceral reactions and get upset about it when we talk about black and white. Not black and white in the negative context but blacks and whites are treated differently. All things being equal, if you and i do the same thing wrong, both get arrested, chances are im more likely to get im more likely to get in trouble and actually serve time, im likely to serve a longer sentence, im less likely to get paroled, all things being equal. And that is an inherent flaw. As compared to a bald white guy like me. Exactly. And thats what youre talking about. Whats that im talking about. If we started a law firm, smerconish and ayanbadejo, could you imagine the person answering the phone and trying to say that . It would be a mouthful. We would have to be like a and s or something, you know . Yeah. S and a. Something like that, exactly. Thank you so much for being here. Coming up, a princess is born. Prince william and kate announce the arrival of their baby girl. Were going to take you to london for the very latest. These days you may be hearing more about data breaches in the news. Its possible your personal information may be at risk. Research shows that if your information is compromised due to a data breach you are 6 times more likely to become a victim of identity theft. Now is the time to get protection. Sign up today and lifelock will begin monitoring your personal information, including your Social Security number alert you about suspicious activity and if needed, take steps to help restore your losses. You only have one identity. Protect it with the best. Lifelock. Welcome back. Royal baby watch finally over. Princess kate and Prince William have welcomed a baby girl. The newborn is the royal couples second child and a little sister for Prince George. Lets go to london where cnns max foster has been tracking the latest developments. Max, she was late, but ultimately all is well. Yeah, absolutely. We were waiting for some time for this, and suddenly it all happened very quickly. 6 00 in the morning london time she was admitted in the hospital in the early stage of labor, and a couple hours later, just after 8 00 she had a baby girl who will be a princess. Born 8 pounds. Both are doing very well. Prince george her older brother isnt here at the moment. Hes at kensington palace. We were hoping he was going to pop in and visit. Hasnt happened quite yet. Certainly this is significant in the british constitution in the sense that this will be a great support to Prince George as he heads towards the throne as king one day. And in history over the thousand years of british history, royal history, certainly many of the next in line have gone on to become the monarch. For example, the queens father was not meant to be the monarch. It was his older brother. So he abdicated. But it does happen. This princess could well go on to become queen. At the moment i think its part of the fairytale, this young sort of charismatic family feels more complete now, according to many people here and the members of public. They like the idea of a princess coming along. I dont want to trivialize the birth, but its great for the monarchy, its great for tourism, right . I mean, those of us on this side of the pond were enthralled by all of this in the same way they are in the uk. Well, its not just that. If brad spins the camera around seriously, michael, this is a press pack beyond many that ive seen. And on the royal beat there are often huge amounts of media. But this is just one press pen, the main press pen. You have the photographerers and the broadcasters in front of them. There are literally hundreds of journalists and camera technicians here and engineers. Its a huge media operation. And its not the sort of country what you could necessarily expect. A lot of countries coming over from japan, italy, france. Huge amount of magazine journalists. The magazines are pleased its a princess. Thats what they were hoping for. Its a much bigger story for them. They say a prince would have been a story for a couple of weeks for them, but now the princess and clothes she wears growing up. This is a story that now has years in the running. Max foster, thank you so much. Coming up, fight night is finally here. Floyd mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are ready to rumble. And theres a lot on the line. The great boxing analyst Larry Merchant is joining me next. There is an ancient rhythm. [ ] that flows through all things. Through rocky spires. [ ] and oceans swell. [ ] the endless. Stillness of green. [ ] and in the restless depths of human hearts. [ ] the voice of the wild within. Welcome back. All eyes are on las vegas and what will be the richest bout in boxing history, mayweather versus pacquiao. And theres a lot at stake. Floyd mayweather the overall favorite, is an 11time World Champion and currently undefeated. While Manny Pacquiao is looking to defend his wbo welterweight crown. The winner tonight will be viewed as the best boxer of his era. There is nobody better to preview the big matchup than Larry Merchant considered the greatest tv boxing analyst of all time. And you might remember his famous interview with mayweather back in 2011 when he questioned the boxing great over the fairness of his knockout punches. You were in charge of the fight. You were aggressive and taking advantage of what you dont ever give me a fair shake, you know that . So im going to let you talk to victor ortiz. Im through. Somebody else can give me an interview. What are you talking about . You never give me a fair shake. Hbo needs to fire you, you dont know [ expletive ] about boxing. You aint [ expletive ]. Youre not [ expletive ]. I wish i was 50 years younger, and id kick your ass. Larry merchant joins me now. Larry heres the question. If mayweather gets past pacquiao, will the people finally get to see mayweather v. Merchant . Its been talked about. We know that it took a long time to make mayweather and pacquiao. It may take as long or longer to make mayweather and merchant. Were you surprised by the life that tht took on of its own . I mean, people were making tshirts. Its been viewed, larry, more than a million times on youtube. And a grandson of mine told me i was trending past justin bieber. I thought it was a momentary thing, something that would have a very short life. But wherever i go people throw that line back at me, and we all get a smile out of it. It will be no lower than the second paragraph of my obituary. Hopefully that will be 100 years from now. For the uninitiated, whats the story line of this evening . Well, that its a huge event and that boxing, like all sports, needs these big events that transcend the sport, that reach out to people who arent necessarily interested in it as a game but get attracted to what is a Popular Culture event. And it shows that boxing, what i prefer to call prize fighting, still has some resonance and is still important to some people and can still galvanize people around the planet. Are these two worth the hype or is the interest in this fight more reflective of the fact that boxing has been in decline, that its been facing challenges from an mma crowd that it never had to compete with before . There are various opinions on that. You know boxing has been a Cable Television sport for 20 or 25 years but very active in that realm with its own subculture of viewer viewers, and occasionally something breaks out. These have been the two best or bestknown fighters of the 21st century, and people have been awaiting this fight for five years since pacquiao broke through as an International Star and celebrity. And mayweather had been a wellknown name from a family of fighters and had been an outstanding fighter himself. I think of mayweather as the best pure boxer of his time and pacquiao as the best fighter of his time. And so a lot of people want to see what happens when they test each other. I know that youre providing analysis for my favorite beer, tecate, the one that i drink with a lime because ive been watching you with sylvester stallone. When Larry Merchant, with your trained eye, is watching that fight tonight, what are you looking for . You know, usually the excitement in mayweather fights end at the first bell because he is a controlled fighter, a virtuoso, defensive technical fighter who can control the action or inaction in his fights. Hes brilliant at that. Whereas Manny Pacquiao is a more active fighter and who will take some risks. So im just curious to see how that scenario plays out, how the relative speed of them plays out, the relative size because mayweather is the bigger man. He is the favorite. I think he probably has in mind of looking for an opportunity to do something dramatic. But he is one of those fighters who would normally rather watch a dramatic fight than be in it. Larry, can i just say that when i was a kid Howard Cosells voice made it an event. Ill never forget march 8th 71 at the garden, of course i had to wait and watch the highlights on the wild world of sports. For me as an adult, you have filled that void. Its Larry Merchants voice that makes it an event. Thank you so much for being here. Its been an honor. Thank you. Ill be right back. He says shes an undisciplined overwaterer. She claims hes a cruel underwaterer. With miraclegro moisture control potting mix, plants only get water when they need it. Fight ended. Or shifted . Miraclegro. Life starts here. Why do we do it . Why do we spend every waking moment, thinking about people . Why are we so committed to keeping you connected . Why combine performance with a conscience . Why innovate for a future without accidents . Why do any of it . Why do all of it . Because if it matters to you its everything to us. The xc60 crossover. From volvo. vo around age 7, the glucose metabolism in a dogs brain begins to change. ray id like to see her go back to her more you know social side. She literally started changing. It was shocking. Shes much more aware. jan she loves the food. ray the difference has been incredible. She wants to learn things. vo purina pro plan bright mind promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. Purina pro plan. Nutrition that performs. music throughout one coat coverage, one coat guaranteed, one happy couple. Marquee, behrs most advanced paint and primer, only at the home depot. Congratulations. Youre down with crestor. Yes when diet and exercise arent enough, adding crestor lowers bad cholesterol up to 55 . Crestor is not for people with Liver Disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant. Tell your doctor all medicines you take. Call your doctor if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. These could be signs of serious side effects. Im down with crestor make your move. Ask your doctor about crestor. Female announcer sleep trains interest free for 3 event ends sunday. Its your last chance to get three years interestfree financing on beautyrest black, Stearns Foster Serta Icomfort even tempurpedic. Plus, get free delivery, and sleep trains 100day low price guarantee. But hurry sleep trains interest free for 3 event ends sunday. Guaranteed sleep train your ticket to a better nights sleep thank you so much for joining me. Please tune in tomorrow ill be hosting state of the union. And you can follow me on twitter so long as you can spell smerconish. Ill see you tomorrow live from baltimore. Announcer this is cnn breaking news. Hello, everyone. Were live from baltimore for you again. Im don lemon. This is special hour of the cnn newsroom. Thank you so much for voinjoining us. We are right now awaiting a press conference from the Baltimore City police. Theyll be peek speaking as more protesters take to the streets. This is police headquarters. Some three kweekweeks after police threw 25yearold freddie gray into the back of a police van, were seeing a different tone to the demonstrations right now. People are out there shouting that justice is winning, after the city states attorney found probable cause to charge six officers, of course we saw her