That brought in Flintoff to a wonderfully warm, stirring ovation, somewhere between a heavyweight title fight at Madison Square Gardens and The Last Night of the Proms.

BBC: England struggle in deciding Test

Calzaghe's hunger to compete will also give him an edge, especially because the champ has not been a contender since November 2008, when he beat Roy Jones Jr at Madison Square Gardens in New York.

BBC: Weighing up Joe's dance chances

Not that I've got to justify it but we did sell out the Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Gardens regularly and I've got gold and platinum discs (and) the house to prove it, Sonny Jim (sic).

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

At that time, Madison Square Gardens was nearing the end of a 13-year run of hosting the singles -- and Drewett believes that the O2 is taking on a similar status to the iconic New York venue.

CNN: Serving up big business for men's tennis