Universal sights and sounds from the Garden

NEW YORK – The first fan I run into at Madison Square Garden Saturday night is Rico Ray, the trainer-boxer out of Charlotte who throws punches through the air as he talks, and throws them quickly. And the guy is 61 years old. He flew up from Charlotte Saturday afternoon.

He is the only Charlottean I have seen so far. Walk the hallways at the Garden and you would think you were in the Ukraine. I’m not conversant with the language, except to recognize immediately that it’s not English. I’m a reporter. I make a living figuring these things out.

I recognize the flag, however, recognize it when it sails by tied to heads and belts and around waists.

It’s 8:43 p.m., and if I had to break the fans down by languages I’ve heard it would be: 35% New York; 60% Ukraine, Russian and points east; and 5% Charlotte.

Rico talks a lot.

The ring girls, the high heel wearing women who hold a placard that denotes the number of the upcoming round, are sometimes introduced by the ring announcer as "Lola who comes all the way to us from South Beach!" or "Inge, who comes to us all the way from Hollywood!"

Many of the women have come from a distance even greater.

"Let’s give a warm welcome to Helga, who comes to us all the way from Russia and now lives in Brooklyn!"

And the raucous Garden fans do. The building once was the best in the U.S. for boxing. Who fought here? Who didn’t? Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier here. Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano and Sugar Ray Leonard fought here. Ali is supposed to be here tonight to watch his daughter, Laila box, but I haven’t seen him yet.

Las Vegas has snaked away many of the fights. Because of the money boxing fans and high rollers bring into the casinos, Las Vegas can offer larger purses and cheaper hotel rooms.

I like the history here. And I like this crowd. Some of the women dress like ring girls, as do some of the guys. A group of male fans wear kilts. It’s not a look that works for everybody.

Update: Latest word, which comes from the Laila Ali camp, is that the Brock-Klitschko fight will start between 11:15 to 11:20. The time, however, is unofficial. Boxing facts tend to be.

I love this stuff. I think it’s cool that one of us, Brock, will fight for the heavyweight championship of the world, in a ring 50 feet away from where I sit, and all these fans will be cheering for or against him. And I did hear one guy in the concourse yell, in a voice that suggests Queens, "Brrr-ockkkk!" Michael Buffer will introduce Brock to the crowd at the Garden and the fans watching on HBO.

Hope you enjoy the festivities.

The six folks in the hallway next to the bar where the Garden sells hard liquor are. They speak a language I don’t understand. But as they engage in a spirited vodka toast, their laughter is universal.

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