Madison Square Garden was a lonely place on October 2 at 1:30 p.m. In 10 hours, Felix Trinidad and Ricardo Mayorga would enter the ring to do battle before 17,406 frenzied fans. But for the moment, the main arena was deserted except for a handful of technicians hooking up electrical cables and some maintenance workers mopping floors.

And there were ghosts. Muhammad Ali. Joe Frazier. Joe Louis. Rocky Marciano. Jack Dempsey. Sugar Ray Robinson …

A solitary figure entered the arena.A stocky black man in his mid-20s, he was wearing blue-jeans without a shirt. His torso was heavily tattooed and there was a world IBF world championship belt around his waist.

The man was alone. He walked down the aisle, climbed the stairs to the ring, stepped between the ropes, and began to shadow-box.

Jab … Jab … Straight right hand … Hook to the body … Another hook.

The assault continued until, finally, the man looked down at an imaginary foe lying on the canvas and raised his arm in triumph. Then he embraced an imaginary corner man, waited for the announcement of his victory, raised his arm a second time, consoled his imaginary opponent, and left the ring.

Walking in the opposite direction along the path he’d traveled minutes before, he exchanged high-fives with imaginary fans and stopped to sign an imaginary autograph. Finally, he disappeared through the exit that leads to the dressing rooms beneath the stands.

Kelvin Davis is the International Boxing Federation cruiserweight champion of the world. His record stands at 21 victories, 2 losses, and 1 draw. He won the title with an eighth round knockout of Ezra Sellers in Miami earlier this year. Davis has fought in New York once, at Radio City Music Hall on the under card of Roy Jones versus David Telesco three years ago.

What was the pantomime all about?

“Someday, I want to do my thing right here,” Davis explained. “Madison Square Garden is history.”

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Roy Jones was also at Madison Square Garden for Trinidad versus Mayorga and talked openly about his future. The greatest fighter of his generation was rendered unconscious by Glencoffe Johnson last month for his second knock-out loss in a row.

“If I was looking at this from the outside,” Jones acknowledged, “I’d say to myself, ‘He was good; he did his thing; now it’s time for him to move on to something else.’ This is a killer game. When I was hungry and in the hunt, nothing could stop me; but I don’t have that hunger anymore. And reflex-wise, I’ve lost something. I was in shape for Johnson, but that’s not enough for me anymore.”

So will he retire?

“People say, ‘You can’t go out like that,” Jones answered. “And I say, ‘Yes, I can if I want to. ‘I don’t feel like I have to fight again. I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do. So unless I do, I won’t. I’ll take some time off and decide what I want to do. But whatever I do, my life is exactly what God planned for me. God doesn’t make mistakes.”

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The boxing renaissance in New York continues tonight with “black tie” boxing in the Grand Ballroom of the New York Hilton at Avenue of the Americas and 54th Street.

The event is a fundraiser for FIST, a non-profit organization founded by former heavyweight contender Gerry Cooney to help retired fighters make the transition to life after boxing. Among the services FIST offers are job placement, educational guidance, psychological counseling, and emergency financial aid.

The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with a VIP reception followed by a “gourmet” dinner and entertainment. Former champions slated to attend include Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Jake LaMotta, Ken Norton, Carlos Ortiz, Vito Antoufermo, James “Bonecrusher” Smith, Pinklon Thomas, and Emile Griffith.

The seven-fight card begins at 9 p.m. The featured attraction is a 10-round welterweight match-up between Chris Smith (18-0-1, 11 KOs) and Dillon Carew (15-11-3, 11 KOs).

Smith has the skills to become a contender, but has lacked consistency in recent fights. Carew has won three fights in a row against mediocre foes after an eight-bout winless streak. Look for Smith to win by knockout.

The co-featured bout is an eight round junior-middleweight contest between Marcos Primera (16-8-2, 10 KOs) and Lloyd Joseph 12-5-3, 5 KOs).

Tickets range from $500 to $1,000 and are available by calling 212 675-4133. A portion of the ticket price is tax-deductible.