That night in the Garden - Jim McNeill

Madison Square Garden...the Garden...that marvellous New York arena that has seen Pavarotti, Sinatra and Streisand, Elvis, Elton John and The Rolling Stones all hold centre stage; an arena that has hosted the very best in ice hockey and basketball, wrestling, athletics and cycling. One hundred years after PT Barnum's elephants first danced in Madison Square, the Garden still houses an annual circus treat. But it is a name that will be forever synonymous with boxing. From John L Sullivan to Lennox Lewis, the history of boxing has been fought out under the hot lights over the Garden ring - four Garden rings to be precise, erected on three different sites. From wild days when boxing was illegal in New York and Sullivan's contests were often halted by the police to the mega-buck promotions of Don King; from madcap days of prohibition to the horror of the Twin Towers outrage, the Garden has always been a place where New Yorkers can forget their troubles and watch the greatest fighters in the world.