1. Jack ‘Kid’ Berg vs. Kid Chocolate
Whitechapel’s Berg fought in the Garden 12 times between 1929 and 1934 and famously beat the great Kid Chocolate there in 1932. He had snapped the Cuban’s 56-fight undefeated record two years earlier.
2. Lennox Lewis vs. Evander Holyfield I
Famous for Eugenia Williams’ scorecard and a controversial draw, the 1999 battle between Lewis and Holyfield was a meeting of two heavyweight champions (Lewis was WBC champion, Holyfield owned WBA and IBF belts) designed to bring clarity to the division.
3. Ken Buchanan vs. Roberto Duran
This WBA lightweight title fight in 1972 ended in controversial fashion when Duran nailed Buchanan with a low blow after the bell to end round 13.
4. Freddie Welsh vs. Benny Leonard
Welsh, of Pontypridd via New York, fought at the Garden six times during the First World War and lost a ‘newspaper’ decision in his 1916 world lightweight title fight against Leonard.
5. Ted ‘Kid’ Lewis vs. Jack Britton
London-born Lewis was an expat adored by American fans who apparently fought Britton 20 times, with at least two of them taking place at MSG. In the pair’s final fight in 1921, Britton objected to Lewis’ use of a mouthpiece and won a 15-round decision.
6 Naseem Hamed vs. Kevin Kelley
In this up-and-down classic from 1997, Hamed, on his US debut, pulled himself off the canvas three times to stop Kelley in the fourth round and retain his WBO featherweight title. As far as first impressions go, ‘Prince’ Naseem couldn’t have done a lot more.
7. Bob Fitzsimmons vs. Gus Ruhlin
In 1900, Fitzsimmons, born in Cornwall and raised in New Zealand and Australia, knocked out Ruhlin at Madison Square Garden in the sixth of a 25-round heavyweight fight.
8. Joe Calzaghe vs. Roy Jones Jnr
A fine note on which to end a career, Calzaghe battled Jones Jnr at MSG in 2008 and retired following a comprehensive decision win. Though knocked down in the first round, Calzaghe was too sharp for a badly faded legend.
9. Amir Khan vs. Paulie Malignaggi
In 2010, Khan fought Malignaggi in the second defence of his WBA super-lightweight title and retained his belt with an 11th round stoppage. Khan wouldn’t box again at MSG until 2019, when losing to Terence Crawford.
10 Michael Jennings vs. Miguel Cotto
Jennings found himself out of his depth when facing Cotto at MSG in 2009, but despite being stopped inside five rounds remembers the experience fondly and deserved his moment.
