There's a reason Madison Square Garden is nicknamed "The Mecca of Boxing." From the legendary first two fights between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier to Gennady Golovkin headlining multiple pay-per-view events in recent years, it's no wonder fighters relish the opportunity to fight at the historic venue.
One such fighter is Alberto Machado, the WBA super featherweight champion. Machado is currently scheduled to fight at Madison Square Garden on the October 27 HBO card against Yuandale Evans in Machado's second world title defense.
It's been four years since Machado last fought at the venue, back when he was a young prospect with dreams of competing at the venue as a world champion. Not only did Machado want to compete in a marquee matchup there, but also walk in and out as a world champion, adding on to the legacy of famous Puerto Rican boxers to fight in world title fights.
Most notably, fighters such as Miguel Cotto, Felix Trinidad and Hector "Macho" Camacho are just a few of several Puerto Ricans to fight in big world title fights at MSG. In a recent media call, Machado told Fightful that "it's a dream true" to be able to do what some of his idols have done earlier in his career.
“For me, it’s a dream come true to fight once more at Madison Square Garden. It’s a place where the likes of Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho, Miguel Cotto, Felix Trinidad fought and had great fights. To do it on the HBO network is a very big moment in my career. It was a dream come true to win a world title in the main event of an HBO card and now I’m going to Madison Square Garden as the world champion in front of my Puerto Rican people. I’m very committed to give my family and the people of Puerto Rico a spectacle, return home as the champion and to continue the legacy of those great fighters that I mentioned [that competed at the venue]," Machado said.
Machado won the world title last year in the main event of an HBO card where he knocked out Jezreel Corrales and recently retained his title on HBO back in July. Machado’s fight against Evans will be one of the main undercard fights for the main event, which is an IBF middleweight title bout between Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
