The Garden - set for another great battle (Allsport).

Madison Square Garden is simply the most famous boxing arena in the world.

The glamour of Las Vegas may have seduced some of the modern day heroes but for traditional fans of the sport, 'The Garden' will always be the true venue for world championship boxing.

Despite the fact that this current stadium is the fourth to bear the famous name, the history has always managed to travel with every move.

This latest arena above Pennsylvania Station between 31st and 33rd streets was opened on February 11, 1968 when legends Bob Hope and Bing Crosby performed at the gala show.

The first version had opened back in 1874, the brainchild of the celebrated circus impressario P.T. Barnum.

That was demolished in 1889 to make way for a superb new 'Garden' that opened the following summer.

When the insurance company who held the mortgage decided to move its headquarters to that site in 1925, the venue was torn down again but re-built in less than 12 months on Eighth Avenue.

It became a New York institution, staging some of the most famous world title fights in boxing history as well as playing host to the capital's renowned basketball team, the Knicks.

That role at the heart of New York sport continued when Garden No 4 took over in the late 1960s and on March 8, 1971 staged Muhammad Ali v Joe Frazier, possibly the most famous title fight in the sport's history.

So it was no surprise when Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis were brought together after years of negotiations for a world heavyweight unification bout, it was Madison Square Garden that was chosen for another piece of boxing history.