Executive Vice President of Marquee Events & Operations, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN SPORTS
Joel Fisher - EVP Marquee Events at Madison Square Garden talks about #boxing at MSG
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About Joel Fisher
Joel Fisher, Executive Vice President of Marquee Events & Operations at Madison Square Garden Sports, has been involved with the venue for over 38 years. In 2022, he described the fight between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor as "historic for women's boxing and for boxing in general," noting that the atmosphere was "absolutely electric." He stated that the Garden has "always prided ourselves on being the mecca of boxing" and that the venue is selective about the fights it hosts, aiming to do "the biggest and best fights" that will sell out. Fisher also commented on a unification fight between Arthur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr., calling it a "50-50 fight" and predicting it would be "another great night of boxing." In earlier appearances, Fisher emphasized the Garden's status as "the center of boxing," asserting that fighters "don't feel that they've made it unless they've fought at Madison Square Garden." He discussed the venue's selectivity in choosing events, stating, "We will not just do a fight just to have a fight." In 2013, Fisher presented Miguel Cotto with a commemorative plaque for selling over 100,000 tickets across eight fights at the Garden, calling the milestone "an amazing number." He also highlighted the venue's renovations, describing the transformed building as "a hall of fame" that celebrates its history.
Transcript (15 segments)
K
Karen Battia0:00
Karen Battia here at Madison Square Garden. It's the Arthur Beterbiev versus Joe Smith Jr. press conference here with Joel Fisher, the Executive Vice President of Marquee Events at Madison Square Garden. Did I get that right?
J
Joel Fisher0:12
You got that exactly right. Very good.
K
Karen Battia0:13
And this isn't your first time around the block here. You've been involved in Madison Square Garden for a long time. How long have you been involved here?
J
Joel Fisher0:20
I've been working at the Garden here for 38 years, believe it or not.
K
Karen Battia0:24
So you've seen so many big events, and it seems like we're getting a lot of amazing boxing events. Last weekend we had Edgar Berlanga representing Puerto Rico, and when the fans came out it was a sellout in the Hulu Theater. This weekend we got Beterbiev versus Joe Smith, this is a unification fight. We had Katie Taylor versus Amanda Serrano, an unbelievable event. What do you think about the recent boxing events here at the Garden?
J
Joel Fisher0:46
They've all been great. You know, we've always prided ourselves on being the Mecca of boxing and doing a lot of boxing here. We don't do boxing just to do boxing; we do the fights that make sense to take place here. So it's been a lot of great activity. We have great relationships with all of the promoters. They all want to be here. All the fighters don't feel that they've made it unless they've fought at Madison Square Garden. So we're very excited about what we've done and what we'll continue to do.
K
Karen Battia1:18
And how do you see the future of not just combat sports but all the events here? I mean, this is still the marquee place. They call it in boxing we call it the Mecca of boxing, right? I mean, how do you see boxing playing out here in the future? Are we going to see a lot of events here?
J
Joel Fisher1:29
Oh, absolutely. You know, we'll continue pursuing all of the biggest and best fights. Again, the fights that make sense here. We're not just going to do fights to have fights that won't sell. We need to do fights that will sell out, whether it's the theater or the arena. And there's a lot of fights out there and a lot of good fighters. The fighting game, boxing, has really picked up. So we're excited about the future and what's coming.
K
Karen Battia1:55
You mentioned you've been here working here for 38 years, and I'm sure you've seen ebbs and flows, you've seen evolution. How have things changed from the beginning when you were here to now?
J
Joel Fisher2:05
You know, the Garden has always been the Garden. It's been the place to be. It's been the place where, whether it's a sports figure, an entertainer, a singer, a boxer, any athlete, they don't feel that they've made it unless they've played Madison Square Garden. So it's always been that place that everybody wants to perform at. The atmosphere here is like nothing else. You mentioned the women's fight between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor. That atmosphere was unreal. And the Garden is part of what makes that up. And that was an historic event. And we're known and we continue to do historic events, and we will continue to do historic events. So the Garden from day one has been the world's most famous arena, and to this day is still the world's most famous arena, and we will continue to be the world's most famous arena.
K
Karen Battia3:05
And I wanted to ask you, you brought up Katie Taylor versus Amanda Serrano, and it was such a big moment not just for women's boxing but for boxing in general and for the sport. And one of the most amazing things, I was in the building, I'm sure you were here too, it was so electric. And the fight actually over-delivered on the hype. It was an unbelievable back and forth fight. It could have gone either way. Katie Taylor got the win in the end. What did you make of that? I mean, is that just, you know, you draw it up a certain way, you have the promotion like we have here, you never know if the fight's going to deliver. That event delivered, it more than delivered.
J
Joel Fisher3:35
And you're absolutely right. A lot of times you've got these great events, and there's a lot of hype and a lot of anticipation, and sometimes the event doesn't live up to what you hoped it would be. This particular fight surpassed any of our imagination with the fight itself, the promotion behind it, the worldwide promotion and attention that took place. It was historic. It was historic for women's boxing, it was historic for boxing. And as you just said, I would think that it's right up there for the fight of the year. It was such a great event. And yeah, it could have gone either way. Katie Taylor was the champ, so Amanda really had to beat her. She didn't, but both women should be really proud. And I've gotten to know both women, and they said it was one of the best nights of their life, if not the best night, excuse me, of their life fighting here. And seeing the crowd and seeing the reaction of everybody, it was an incredible night. It was absolutely electric. You had Amanda Serrano with the Puerto Rican fans, and then you had the Irish fans who were just as loud, if not louder.
K
Karen Battia4:49
Last weekend we had Edgar Berlanga, he brought up the Puerto Rican fans. The Puerto Rican Day Parade was happening. Final question for you, because I know we have the press conference starting. We have Joe Smith from Long Island. The atmosphere last time was electric with Puerto Rican fans. We know Joe Smith, local kid, there's going to be a lot of people supporting him. What do you expect the atmosphere to be like on Saturday night?
J
Joel Fisher5:06
I think it's going to be tremendous. I think this is a fight for the belt, you know. And both boxers have incredible power. You could see a knockout early, you could see it going the whole 10 rounds. This is going to be one hell of a fight. And I think it's a 50-50 fight. One of these guys lands a punch, fight's over. And that could happen. These guys both have power, they're both great fighters. It's going to be another great night of boxing here at the Garden.
K
Karen Battia5:41
Absolutely. It's coming your way Saturday night. It's Arthur Beterbiev versus Joe Smith Jr., it's a unification fight happening here at Madison Square Garden. It's on ESPN. Joel Fisher, thank you so much for the time.