a piece.

A boxer from the Ukraine by the name of Vladimir Klitschko is defending his heavyweight Championship title against an American named Calvin Brock. Lennox Lewis, Jim Lampley, and Larry Merchant stood in front of the ringside camera pre-taping the opening of the program which went on “live” at 10pm. The celebrities slowly wandered in and sat across the ring opposite the main camera. They never sit down before the main event. Call it vanity, but it’s a normal thing with them. It is always a treat seeing what they wear and how the women dress. Diamonds and “bling” sparkling everywhere, and a lot of it is worn by the men! Mohammed Ali sat across from me talking to Billy Crystal while others strained to take pictures of them. Boris Becker entered with a fine lady and took his seat.

They were all introduced by the impeccably dressed Michael Buffer. Finally after the boxers were announced, and the national anthem sung, the ring was cleared of the many unnecessary people and the fight finally started. Klitschko weighed nearly 260 pounds with Brock almost 40 pounds lighte

As I came out of the dark and dirty subway station at 32nd Street and Eighth Ave in New York City- I could see Madison Square Garden. In front of the building a line of yellow taxi cabs were parked against the curb. One after another they took their passengers, and then sped off into traffic as if running in a NASCAR race. I walked past the two policemen guarding the media entrance and entered the building. I needed to get to the fifth floor, arena level, for a Heavyweight Championship boxing match being held that night.

As a broadcast engineer I travel the States technically supporting broadcasters at various events, from News to Sport. My small company caters to mostly European clients. I was to sit ringside, with my German clients, assisting them in broadcasting the fight “live” on German Radio. The other broadcasters in attendance were HBO cable, Poland, Japan, and German Television. In days gone by a heavyweight championship boxing match might bring to ringside perhaps a dozen or so broadcasters from all over the world. Nowadays most receive the pictures and audio from a satellite feed in their home studio. They talk over the pictures as if they were there, but they actually aren’t. Their viewers won’t know the difference. The reason for this is the high fees for the broadcast rights. No longer can they afford to send their own commentators. More money would have to be spent on hotels, meals, travel, and expense allowances if they did.

After showing the Garden security my press credential, I took my broadcast cases, filled with microphones, headsets and amplifiers up to the 5th floor. The entrance to the event area was just a few feet away and I could see the boxing ring being constructed. The Garden workers were busy tightening the ropes while someone from the lighting company hung 60 feet over the ring positioning the spotlights. HBO was setting up their TV monitors, microphones, and communications back to their production truck. The table I was going to be using for my broadcast equipment wasn’t setup yet due to the forklifts and the lighting people. The ring area is a busy and dangerous place to be at that time. I usually sit in the back until all the work is finished.

It was two o’clock in the afternoon when the tables were finally in position and I was able to start setting up. As I began I heard HBO balancing the ring microphones. One came from high above the Garden and would be lowered for Michael Buffer, the ring announcer. The others were the effects microphones located in the corners of the boxing ring. The Garden engineers were busy running out all the cables for the telephone, internet, and broadcast lines. Besides the broadcasters, there are a lot of newspaper and magazine writers from all over the world who need a telephone or internet access.

I was running late setting up my broadcast equipment because of the Guns N’ Roses concert held the night before. It didn’t finish until the wee hours of the morning. They had to take everything off the floor, set the ring up, balance the lights, and bring all the chairs back out before wires and cables could be run. I waited for the telephone installers to give me my broadcast lines so I could test them before my commentators arrived, and the boxing card began. The Garden is very efficient at this due to much experience.

Of all the venues I’ve worked in, to me Madison Square Garden is the most exciting. I suppose that is because of its history. To stand in the middle and look up at the purple and lavender seats would make the hair stand up on the back of anyone’s neck. It opened on February 11th, 1968 with a seating capacity of approximately twenty thousand. Conveniently located above Penn Station it lays between Seventh and Eighth Ave on Thirty-Third Street. It hosts basketball and hockey games, ice skating, tennis, professional wrestling, concerts, political conventions as well as boxing.

Most of the seats are for corporations including the 89 luxury boxes. If you do manage to get tickets to a basketball game at all, be prepared to fork over a little money. They are expensive mainly due to the salaries most players receive these days. For a family of four, to spend three hundred dollars on tickets, hot dogs, and a program is quite the norm for a basketball game. Ringside tickets for a heavyweight boxing event can go as high as $1600 a piece.

A boxer from the Ukraine by the name of Vladimir Klitschko is defending his heavyweight Championship title against an American named Calvin Brock. Lennox Lewis, Jim Lampley, and Larry Merchant stood in front of the ringside camera pre-taping the opening of the program which went on “live” at 10pm. The celebrities slowly wandered in and sat across the ring opposite the main camera. They never sit down before the main event. Call it vanity, but it’s a normal thing with them. It is always a treat seeing what they wear and how the women dress. Diamonds and “bling” sparkling everywhere, and a lot of it is worn by the men! Mohammed Ali sat across from me talking to Billy Crystal while others strained to take pictures of them. Boris Becker entered with a fine lady and took his seat.

They were all introduced by the impeccably dressed Michael Buffer. Finally after the boxers were announced, and the national anthem sung, the ring was cleared of the many unnecessary people and the fight finally started. Klitschko weighed nearly 260 pounds with Brock almost 40 pounds lighter

ellite feed in their home studio. They talk over the pictures as if they were there, but they actually aren’t. Their viewers won’t know the difference. The reason for this is the high fees for the broadcast rights. No longer can they afford to send their own commentators. More money would have to be spent on hotels, meals, travel, and expense allowances if they did.

After showing the Garden security my press credential, I took my broadcast cases, filled with microphones, headsets and amplifiers up to the 5th floor. The entrance to the event area was just a few feet away and I could see the boxing ring being constructed. The Garden workers were busy tightening the ropes while someone from the lighting company hung 60 feet over the ring positioning the spotlights. HBO was setting up their TV monitors, microphones, and communications back to their production truck. The table I was going to be using for my broadcast equipment wasn’t setup yet due to the forklifts and the lighting people. The ring area is a busy and dangerous place to be at that time. I usually sit in the back until all the work is finished.

It was two o’clock in the afternoon when the tables were finally in position and I was able to start setting up. As I began I heard HBO balancing the ring microphones. One came from high above the Garden and would be lowered for Michael Buffer, the ring announcer. The others were the effects microphones located in the corners of the boxing ring. The Garden engineers were busy running out all the cables for the telephone, internet, and broadcast lines. Besides the broadcasters, there are a lot of newspaper and magazine writers from all over the world who need a telephone or internet access.

I was running late setting up my broadcast equipment because of the Guns N’ Roses concert held the night before. It didn’t finish until the wee hours of the morning. They had to take everything off the floor, set the ring up, balance the lights, and bring all the chairs back out before wires and cables could be run. I waited for the telephone installers to give me my broadcast lines so I could test them before my commentators arrived, and the boxing card began. The Garden is very efficient at this due to much experience.

Of all the venues I’ve worked in, to me Madison Square Garden is the most exciting. I suppose that is because of its history. To stand in the middle and look up at the purple and lavender seats would make the hair stand up on the back of anyone’s neck. It opened on February 11th, 1968 with a seating capacity of approximately twenty thousand. Conveniently located above Penn Station it lays between Seventh and Eighth Ave on Thirty-Third Street. It hosts basketball and hockey games, ice skating, tennis, professional wrestling, concerts, political conventions as well as boxing.

Most of the seats are for corporations including the 89 luxury boxes. If you do manage to get tickets to a basketball game at all, be prepared to fork over a little money. They are expensive mainly due to the salaries most players receive these days. For a family of four, to spend three hundred dollars on tickets, hot dogs, and a program is quite the norm for a basketball game. Ringside tickets for a heavyweight boxing event can go as high as $1600 a piece.

A boxer from the Ukraine by the name of Vladimir Klitschko is defending his heavyweight Championship title against an American named Calvin Brock. Lennox Lewis, Jim Lampley, and Larry Merchant stood in front of the ringside camera pre-taping the opening of the program which went on “live” at 10pm. The celebrities slowly wandered in and sat across the ring opposite the main camera. They never sit down before the main event. Call it vanity, but it’s a normal thing with them. It is always a treat seeing what they wear and how the women dress. Diamonds and “bling” sparkling everywhere, and a lot of it is worn by the men! Mohammed Ali sat across from me talking to Billy Crystal while others strained to take pictures of them. Boris Becker entered with a fine lady and took his seat.

They were all introduced by the impeccably dressed Michael Buffer. Finally after the boxers were announced, and the national anthem sung, the ring was cleared of the many unnecessary people and the fight finally started. Klitschko weighed nearly 260 pounds with Brock almost 40 pounds lighte

l the work is finished.

It was two o’clock in the afternoon when the tables were finally in position and I was able to start setting up. As I began I heard HBO balancing the ring microphones. One came from high above the Garden and would be lowered for Michael Buffer, the ring announcer. The others were the effects microphones located in the corners of the boxing ring. The Garden engineers were busy running out all the cables for the telephone, internet, and broadcast lines. Besides the broadcasters, there are a lot of newspaper and magazine writers from all over the world who need a telephone or internet access.

I was running late setting up my broadcast equipment because of the Guns N’ Roses concert held the night before. It didn’t finish until the wee hours of the morning. They had to take everything off the floor, set the ring up, balance the lights, and bring all the chairs back out before wires and cables could be run. I waited for the telephone installers to give me my broadcast lines so I could test them before my commentators arrived, and the boxing card began. The Garden is very efficient at this due to much experience.

Of all the venues I’ve worked in, to me Madison Square Garden is the most exciting. I suppose that is because of its history. To stand in the middle and look up at the purple and lavender seats would make the hair stand up on the back of anyone’s neck. It opened on February 11th, 1968 with a seating capacity of approximately twenty thousand. Conveniently located above Penn Station it lays between Seventh and Eighth Ave on Thirty-Third Street. It hosts basketball and hockey games, ice skating, tennis, professional wrestling, concerts, political conventions as well as boxing.

Most of the seats are for corporations including the 89 luxury boxes. If you do manage to get tickets to a basketball game at all, be prepared to fork over a little money. They are expensive mainly due to the salaries most players receive these days. For a family of four, to spend three hundred dollars on tickets, hot dogs, and a program is quite the norm for a basketball game. Ringside tickets for a heavyweight boxing event can go as high as $1600 a piece.

A boxer from the Ukraine by the name of Vladimir Klitschko is defending his heavyweight Championship title against an American named Calvin Brock. Lennox Lewis, Jim Lampley, and Larry Merchant stood in front of the ringside camera pre-taping the opening of the program which went on “live” at 10pm. The celebrities slowly wandered in and sat across the ring opposite the main camera. They never sit down before the main event. Call it vanity, but it’s a normal thing with them. It is always a treat seeing what they wear and how the women dress. Diamonds and “bling” sparkling everywhere, and a lot of it is worn by the men! Mohammed Ali sat across from me talking to Billy Crystal while others strained to take pictures of them. Boris Becker entered with a fine lady and took his seat.

They were all introduced by the impeccably dressed Michael Buffer. Finally after the boxers were announced, and the national anthem sung, the ring was cleared of the many unnecessary people and the fight finally started. Klitschko weighed nearly 260 pounds with Brock almost 40 pounds lighte

Garden is very efficient at this due to much experience.

Of all the venues I’ve worked in, to me Madison Square Garden is the most exciting. I suppose that is because of its history. To stand in the middle and look up at the purple and lavender seats would make the hair stand up on the back of anyone’s neck. It opened on February 11th, 1968 with a seating capacity of approximately twenty thousand. Conveniently located above Penn Station it lays between Seventh and Eighth Ave on Thirty-Third Street. It hosts basketball and hockey games, ice skating, tennis, professional wrestling, concerts, political conventions as well as boxing.

Most of the seats are for corporations including the 89 luxury boxes. If you do manage to get tickets to a basketball game at all, be prepared to fork over a little money. They are expensive mainly due to the salaries most players receive these days. For a family of four, to spend three hundred dollars on tickets, hot dogs, and a program is quite the norm for a basketball game. Ringside tickets for a heavyweight boxing event can go as high as $1600 a piece.

A boxer from the Ukraine by the name of Vladimir Klitschko is defending his heavyweight Championship title against an American named Calvin Brock. Lennox Lewis, Jim Lampley, and Larry Merchant stood in front of the ringside camera pre-taping the opening of the program which went on “live” at 10pm. The celebrities slowly wandered in and sat across the ring opposite the main camera. They never sit down before the main event. Call it vanity, but it’s a normal thing with them. It is always a treat seeing what they wear and how the women dress. Diamonds and “bling” sparkling everywhere, and a lot of it is worn by the men! Mohammed Ali sat across from me talking to Billy Crystal while others strained to take pictures of them. Boris Becker entered with a fine lady and took his seat.

They were all introduced by the impeccably dressed Michael Buffer. Finally after the boxers were announced, and the national anthem sung, the ring was cleared of the many unnecessary people and the fight finally started. Klitschko weighed nearly 260 pounds with Brock almost 40 pounds lighte

a piece.

A boxer from the Ukraine by the name of Vladimir Klitschko is defending his heavyweight Championship title against an American named Calvin Brock. Lennox Lewis, Jim Lampley, and Larry Merchant stood in front of the ringside camera pre-taping the opening of the program which went on “live” at 10pm. The celebrities slowly wandered in and sat across the ring opposite the main camera. They never sit down before the main event. Call it vanity, but it’s a normal thing with them. It is always a treat seeing what they wear and how the women dress. Diamonds and “bling” sparkling everywhere, and a lot of it is worn by the men! Mohammed Ali sat across from me talking to Billy Crystal while others strained to take pictures of them. Boris Becker entered with a fine lady and took his seat.

They were all introduced by the impeccably dressed Michael Buffer. Finally after the boxers were announced, and the national anthem sung, the ring was cleared of the many unnecessary people and the fight finally started. Klitschko weighed nearly 260 pounds with Brock almost 40 pounds lighter. The much bigger, and taller, Champion punched the smaller fighter over and over until finally in round seven he hit him with a crushing right hand and almost knocked unconscious. In slow motion the American fell down, his head crashing against the canvas. He barely made it to his feet and the fight was stopped with Klitschko retaining his title.

After Larry Merchant, from HBO, interviewed the boxers in the ring the program ended. Both fighters hit the showers. They had to attend the mandatory post fight press conference which was held just off the ring area. My German commentators went off the air as well and I was left to pack up everything while they attended the conference backstage.

When technically preparing a boxing event it takes teamwork and a lot of people working together fine tuning the lights, audio and video feeds. It’s a time consuming operation. After the fight is over it’s another story. Wires are ripped out at the speed of light. Electric power is shut off, chairs are folded and packed, tables are stacked, and the floors are swept for soda and beer cans at the blink of an eye.The Garden lights are all turned back on and they want you out as soon as possible.

As I finished my packing I heard one of the Garden supervisors talking to a female German TV producer. They were still ringside, and “live” on the air in Germany. He was telling her to hurry up because the electric power would be shut down any moment, hence knocking them off the air. The Garden personnel had to clear the area as fast as possible in order to set up for a magic show later on that same day. She began to panic and started yelling at him “Nein! Nein!” Although the boxing was over, there seemed to be another fight brewing at ringside.