NBC to Air PREMIERE BOXING CHAMPIONS This Weekend

In two days, boxing hits Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., for NBC's Saturday, April 11 primetime telecast of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC).

Marv Albert (blow-by-blow) and fellow New York-natives Al Michaels (host) and Bob Costas (special contributor) will work together on a broadcast for the first time ever, and will be joined on the telecast by analyst and six-time world champion "Sugar" Ray Leonard, corner analyst B.J. Flores, and reporterKenny Rice.

The primetime show features four boxers with a combined 127-4-1 record and 80 KOs - undefeated superstar Danny "Swift" Garcia (29-0, 17 KOs) vs. Lamont Peterson (33-2-1, 17 KOs), and middleweight champion "Irish" Andy Lee (34-2, 24 KOs) vs. Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin (31-0, 22 KOs).

NBC Sports Group's ringside editorial consultant Steve Farhood, who has covered boxing since 1978 forThe Ring and KO Magazine as well as for multiple television networks, weighs in with his five most significant bouts in New York boxing history:

1. Joe Frazier's 15-round win over Muhammad Ali, March 8, 1971, Madison Square Garden:"Never mind that heavyweight champion Frazier was 26-0, and former titlist Ali was 31-0. This was the most anticipated fight in history for political and social reasons as well. The hype was overwhelming-and the fight managed to live up to it."

2. Joe Louis' first-round KNOCKOUT over Max Schmeling, June 22, 1938, Yankee Stadium: "Louis had won the heavyweight title one year before, but refused to consider himself true champion until he avenged his lone setback, a 1936 KO loss to Schmeling.

"The stakes were unimaginably high. In a visit to the White House before the fight, Louis was told by FDR, 'Joe, we need muscles like yours to beat Germany.' Otherwise, no pressure at all.

"Louis delivered, breaking a pair of vertebrae in Schmeling's back en route to a 124-second demolition."

3. Jack Dempsey's second-round KO over Luis Firpo, September 14, 1923, Polo Grounds: "More than 80,000 fans witnessed a fight that is universally ranked among the top five in history.

"In round one, heavyweight champion Dempsey scored seven knockdowns, but was driven through the ropes shortly before the bell. He picked himself up, and finished Argentina's hulking Firpo in round two. The stunning knockdown of Dempsey was voted the most dramatic sports moment in the first half of the 20th century."

4. Rocky Marciano's eighth-round KO over Joe Louis, October 26, 1951, Madison Square Garden: "The last fight of the beloved Louis' career served as a cold and stark reminder that boxing is (most of the time) a young man's game.

"At age 37, Louis couldn't hold off the undefeated Marciano, who applied RELENTLESS pressure before dropping and stopping 'The Brown Bomber' in the eighth.

"All of America shed a collective tear."

5. Joe Welling's 15-round win over Johnny Dundee, September 17, 1920, Madison Square Garden: "Promoted by the legendary Tex Rickard, this was the main event of the first boxing show after the passing of the Walker Law, which made boxing legal in New York State. As a result of the law, a state commission was formed to oversee the sport, and referees or judges were okayed to render decisions in fights that went the distance.

"Other states followed New York's lead, and boxing began to grow at a rapid rate."