On a 9 March morning precisely 40 years ago a contemplatively dazed throng had filed out of a west London cinema into the still-dark pre-dawn to congregate in whispered huddles on the wide pavement concourse to begin to discuss the emphatic curtain-call to the hour of epic narrative they had just witnessed live - or rather, relayed in fuzzy wide-screen monochrome moving pictures beamed across oceans and continents by way of a still comparatively primeval space satellite.

Londoners had been watching a New York boxing match. Not any old boxing match, mind you. This was breakthrough broadcasting. Sky TV was years away. Live television rights had been bought in 46 countries that night and top whack paid by 337 exclusive closed-circuit outlets to worldwide cinemas - which, happily, included the wide and handsome Odeon in London's High Street, Kensington. It was the first time two undefeated world heavyweight champions had ever contested that title.

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