After hiatus, Garden gets back to boxing
MADISON Square Garden has been known as the Mecca of Boxing for as long as anyone can remember, but recently it has been based more on reputation than reality.
The last fight in the World’s Most Famous Arena came in October of 2015 when Gennady Golovkin stopped David Lemieux. The drought ends this week in a huge way when the building hosts back-to-back boxing cards. Ireland’s Olympic hero Michael Conlan will make his professional debut in the Garden Theater on March 17 and the following night Golovkin will face Danny Jacobs of Brooklyn in the big arena for the middleweight championship.
The bouts will highlight a week of activity intending to promote both cards and re-establish the Garden’s commitment to boxing.
“We’ve never had two pro bouts back-to-back,” said Joel Fisher, the executive vice president of marquee events and operations for MSG. “There will be more than 22,000 boxing fans here over those two days. It’s going to be crazy.”
The Garden’s foothold on major boxing in New York City has been impacted by Barclays Center, which has staged 21 boxing cards since opening in 2012. A week ago, a crowd of 16,533 filled the arena in Brooklyn to see Keith Thurman earn a split decision over Danny Garcia in a welterweight unification bout shown on CBS.
Meanwhile, the Garden, with its loaded schedule of concerts, special events and the Knicks and Rangers games, has based its boxing programming on proven draws like Miguel Cotto and Golovkin, who attracted 20,548 for his fight with Lemieux. Fisher hoped to land a proposed bout between Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez last fall, but that matchup never materialized.
“We really don’t think about what the other place does,” Fisher said, referring to Barclays Center. “We think about what we do. We put on fights that make sense. It’s not about the number of fights here. It’s about the quality of fights. We’re an incredibly busy building and we want to do events that are the biggest and best events in sports and entertainment. If a fight makes sense to be here, we’re going to do it. We’re not just going to do it, just to say we had a fight here.”
There was initial skepticism about holding boxing events on back-to-back nights. But having an Olympic hero from Ireland making his pro debut in the 5,000-seat theater on St. Patrick’s Day sounds like a no-brainer, while Golovkin-Jacobs is a can’t-miss fight that will be televised on HBO pay-per-view.
“We’re extremely excited to have fights on back-toback nights,” Fisher said. “It’s not typically something that’s been done in the past. But it’s two different fights. There will be a large Irish audience for an up-and-coming new boxer and then you’ve probably got the two best middleweights in the world fighting the next night in a huge fight. We think it’s a treat for the boxing fans in New York. It shows the Garden is the center of the universe when it comes to boxing.”
Fight week begins with a Monday press conference to promote Golovkin-Jacobs. Fighters on both cards will be featured in a workout Tuesday at the Theater where the boxing ring will be erected all week.
Jacobs is a brand ambassador for Brooklyn Boxing and will wear its apparel into the ring. Brooklyn Boxing is based out of Barclays Center, but the Garden has no issue with Jacobs wearing what could be considered rival gear.
“That’s what he’s associated with, and he has every right to wear what he wants to wear,” Fisher said. “We didn’t fight that at all. Danny has fought here before and he’s a New Yorker and a great kid. So we had no issues with that.”