On Saturday, when Saul “Canelo” Alvarez fights Rocky Fielding for the WBA regular super middleweight world title in Madison Square Garden, he’ll be the first Mexican boxer to headline there in over 35 years.

“It fills me with a lot of pride,” Alvarez said of fighting in the famed arena, “because I know great fighters have fought there, like Muhammad Ali … to mention more fighters would be unnecessary. But to be the main event there … it fills me with pride.”

Once considered the epicenter of the sport, some of the greatest boxers have fought in “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” But also, the site has hosted important fights that resulted in more than just simple wins and losses. They’ve added to the folklore of Mexican boxing and within those fights are mysteries and unanswered questions along with moments of hope, lost opportunity, tragedy and revenge.

“I want to tell you all a story,” Alvarez’s co-trainer, Chepo Reynoso, said during an October press conference announcing this Saturday’s fight. “The date was June 24, 1968 … Mexico was paralyzed on that date.”

On that night, Manuel “Pulgarcito” Ramos faced Joe Frazier for the NYSAC world heavyweight title. “Pulgarcito” — Spanish for “Little Thumb” — was the ironic nickname for the 6-foot-3, 208-pound Ramos. He was the rare Mexican heavyweight and a clear underdog when he faced Frazier.

Ramos was not the first Mexican to fight in Madison Square Garden. That was Alberto “Baby” Arizmendi, who earned his nickname after beginning his boxing career at age 13. During the 1930s in what was the third version of the Garden, Arizmendi won only one of his three fights there. Ramos fought in the arena’s fourth incarnation and planned to knock out Frazier.

“Frazier was rocked,” the television announcer yelled after Ramos connected with a right hook in the first round that made his opponent tremble. The crowd, including the 500 Mexicans who wore sombreros with “Pulgarcito” stitched on the brim, roared as Frazier retreated into the ropes. For a few seconds it appeared Ramos would fulfill his pre-fight promise.

“It looked like our hopes would come true,” Reynoso recalled 50 years after the fight.

But not long after Frazier looked hurt, he threw one of his trademark left hooks that stopped Ramos’ momentum. He regained control of the fight. The following round, Frazier knocked Ramos down twice. After the second knockdown, the referee stopped the fight and with it, Mexico’s hopes of claiming a heavyweight title.

View photos Mexico’s Manuel Ramos puts a hand on the shoulder of Joe Frazier after Frazier scored a TKO in the second round of their heavyweight title fight on June 24, 1968, in Madison Square Garden. (AP Photo/Jerry Mosey) More

Years later, Ramos told a Mexican journalist that when he hurt Frazier, he felt a sudden scare. And because of it, he couldn’t finish Frazier despite his trainer yelling for him to keep attacking. This was the same trainer who received a mysterious phone call before the fight. “It will not be good for your fighter if he wins,” the voice said. “We have one bullet for you and two for him.”

Ramos would go on to fight in the Midtown Manhattan arena twice more, and again, he’d lose both fights. But 12 years after Ramos fought Frazier, Mexico enjoyed a different result. On that night, in 1982, Salvador Sánchez fought for the first and only time at Madison Square Garden.

At just 23 years old, Sánchez was already drawing comparisons to other great featherweights. He, along with Julio César Chavez and Ricardo López — both of whom fought in Madison Square Garden twice but never as headliners — is considered one of the greatest Mexican boxers.

Unlike the cliché for what the Mexican boxer has become, Sánchez was not a brawler. He had incredible discipline, which, inside the ring, led to superb conditioning. Outside the ring, Sánchez’s discipline translated to saving and investing the money he earned from fighting. It seemed his only expensive habit was buying cars, of which he owned nine, including a Porsche 928S.