Greg Page

Statistics
Real name	Greg Page
Rated at	Heavyweight
Nationality	American
Birth date	October 25, 1958(1958-10-25)
Birth place	Louisville, KY
Death date	April 27, 2009 (aged 50)
Death place	Louisville, KY
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	76
Wins	58
Wins by KO	48
Losses	17
Draws	1
No contests	0

Greg Page (October 25, 1958 – April 27, 2009)^[1] was an American boxer. He was the World Boxing Association Heavyweight champion from 1984 to 1985. His professional record after his retirement in 2001 was 58-17-1 with 48 Knockouts.

Contents 1 Amateur Star 2 Early career 3 USBA Heavyweight Champion 4 World title fights 5 Downward spiral 6 Successful trainer 7 Comeback & injury 8 Recovery 9 Death 10 Amateur achievements 11 References 12 External links

[edit] Amateur Star

Greg Page first came to attention as a teenage boxer sparring exhibitions in Louisville against the iconic Muhammad Ali.

He picked up a string of titles as an amateur, winning the National AAU Heavyweight title in 1977 and 1978, and the National Golden Gloves title also in 78. A major victory came over Igor Vysotsky, the big punching Russian who twice beat the legendary Cuban and three time Olympic king Teofilo Stevenson.

Boxing historian Bert Sugar has called Page "the greatest amateur I ever saw". Page finished his amateur career at 90-11, with 55 knockouts. He turned pro in 1979 rather than go to the 1980 Moscow Olympics, sensing a US boycott.

[edit] Early career

Page turned pro in February 1979, knocking out clubfighter and part-time wrestler Don Martin in two rounds in Louisville. He put together 13 straight wins, including notable wins over crafty George Chaplin (a close majority points decision) and the huge Larry Alexander (KO6).

[edit] USBA Heavyweight Champion

Page won the vacant USBA Heavyweight title on February 11, 1980 beating the dangerous veteran Stan Ward on an eye injury in seven rounds.

Page made three defenses of the title in 1981, knocking out the puncher Marty Monroe in five rounds, winning a decision over George Chaplin, and knocking Scott LeDoux out in four one-sided rounds in the Bahamas. He also defeated Alfredo Evangelista in two rounds.

In 1982 Page retained his USBA belt by unanimous decision over Jimmy Young, but then on the big Larry Holmes/Gerry Cooney card in Las Vegas Page was defeated by Trevor Berbick (who would later go on to become champion himself).

Page had a reputation for being overweight, but for the Berbick fight trimmed down to 224 lbs. He struggled with the Berbick's powerful swarming style, and was outmaneuvered over 10 rounds.

In November Page returned with a defense of his USBA belt against contender James "Quick" Tillis. Down in the second round for the first time in his career, Page came off the floor to spectacularly knock Tillis out in the eighth round.

[edit] World title fights

In 1983 Page retained his USBA title again, beating up the dangerous Renaldo Snipes over 12 rounds and taking his #1 ranking.

Page was the mandatory challenger for Larry Holmes WBC world title, but rather than face Page Holmes vacated the belt he had held five years and instead took easy fights against Scott Frank and Marvis Frazier, claiming these fights would earn him more money.

In March 1984 Page instead fought Tim Witherspoon for the vacant WBC belt. Incensced over money troubles with promoter Don King, Page had gone on strike in the gym and turned up out of shape. Witherspoon, who had lost a highly controversial decision to Holmes previously, mauled a close 12 round majority decision to upset the odds and win the WBC belt.

Page returned in August 84 with new trainer Janks Morton and boxed well over 12 rounds against undefeated contender David Bey, only to shockingly lose his USBA belt on a close but unanimous decision.

When Bey refused to fight reigning WBA World Heavyweight Champion Gerrie Coetzee in Sun City, South Africa due to Apartheid, Page stepped in. Coetzee, one of the premier power punchers of the 80's, was favoured to retain his title. Page however boxed superbly, decking Coetzee twice before knocking him clean out in the 8th round to win the title.

There was controversy over the eighth round as it overran by a minute; The timekeeper had issues with the system all night and it had also affected undercard bouts. Although the Coetzee camp lodged a protest, the WBA stated that the time did not affect the outcome as Page looked set to win throughout.

Page faced undefeated (20-0) Tony Tubbs in April 1985 for his first title defence. Page had beaten Tubbs six of seven times in the amateurs and was the favourite to win. Tubbs upset the odds however, boxing sharply and winning a 15 round unanimous decision. This would prove to be Page's final world title fight, although he would feature in a series of significant and often very entertaining bouts in the late 80's and early 90's.

[edit] Downward spiral

Following the Tubbs loss, Page did not fight until 1986, where he returned to face the talented but equally erratic James "Buster" Douglas. Douglas stunned Page and won a decision, much as we would do in 1990 when he knocked out Mike Tyson to win the title.

In June 86 Page competed in a California state heavyweight tournament. He showed up horribly out of shape at 242 lbs to tackle the dangerous Mark Wills, a hard hitting gym rat who had given Witherspoon a torrid fight. Page, completely ill prepared, was dragged into a slugfest - dropped by a barrage in the first round, he recovered to deck Wills with a short left hook in the second. At the end of 9 rounds Wills cut Page and knocked him down whilst he was clowning. This led to the surreal image of Page sat on his stool, arguing with his trainer "this ain't a fight. This is just training!" and electing not to come out for the final round. Wills was declared the winner, but ironically lost a 12 round decision to former Page victim Larry Alexander in the tournament final.

Page became a regular sparring parter for reigning undisputed champ Mike Tyson in the 80's, and boxed on several of his undercard. In May 1987 on the Tyson/Pinklon Thomas card he scored a big win, dropping out outpointing the gigantic former NABF champ James "Broad-Axe" Broad. Page travelled to Australia later that year to fight Joe Bugner who was on the comeback trail, but lost a debatable decision. Resurfacing in April 1989 to challenge the highly ranked Orlin Norris for his NABF belt, he lost a decision.

Page re-signed with Don King in order to try score a big fight with Mike Tyson, whom he had decked in a high profile sparring session. However on an Azumah Nelson undercard, he came unstuck in a rematch with Mark Wills. At a record low weight of 218 lbs Page seemed to lack strength. He rocked Wills in the first, but in the sixth after having his mouthpiece replaced, Page turned from his corner and back into the action only to walk straight into a huge overhand right that felled him like a tree. Although he beat the count, he looked dazed enough for referee Carlos Padilla to wave the fight off.

He remained in the Tyson and King camp, scoring three wins in 1991 before moving up again to tackle the big punching Canadian Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in February 1992. Ruddock was returning after two bruising blockbusters with Tyson that, due to the subsequent incarceration of Tyson, had established Ruddock as the most feared heavyweight in the world. Page at 33 was well past his best, but came to fight and gave Ruddock a hard time, before being rocked by a series of big shots in the 8th. The referee elected to stop the contest after the round.

Page bounced back in June 1992, decking fellow former World Heavyweight Champion James "Bonecrusher" Smith in the first round and punching out a unanimous decision in a rousing bout that revived his career yet again. Page was matched with former WBO Champion Francesco Damiani in September 1992, and a close contest lost two vital points for repeatedly losing his mouthpiece, leading to a narrow and costly defeat.

When a 34 year old Page boxed top contender Bruce Seldon in August 93 in Puerto Rico he looked a spent force, taking a knee in the 9th round and deciding against continuing. He retired after this fight.

[edit] Successful trainer

Page proved to be a top class trainer in the Don King stable. He took on the fast rising Oliver McCall and refined his style, and was instrumental in the erratic McCall's stunning two round knock out of Lennox Lewis to win the WBC World Heavyweight title in London in September 1994. Though Emanuel Steward received the plaudits, Page instructed to counter Lewis's long right hand with a short inside right hook, and McCall actually stated that training with Page had prepared him properly, saying at the post fight press conference "Greg Page's hands are much faster than Lennox Lewis".

Page trained boxers for several years, but grew restless. "I was training boxers to fight guys I knew I could beat".

[edit] Comeback & injury

Page returned to the ring in May 1996 and went undefeated in 17 fights, winning 16 (mostly by knockout) against mostly journeymen, and boxing to a 10 round draw with the big punching contender Jerry Ballard in January 1998.

Matched against young undefeated Monte Barrett in October 1998 in a crossroads fight, Page was outworked over 10 rounds which should have probably suggested he retire. He dropped a controversial decision to journeyman Artis Pendergrass in April 1999, but then dropped and stopped old rival Tim Witherspoon in 7 rounds in June. The win led to a big fight with 6'7 Cuban behemoth Jorge Luis Gonzalez in yet another crossroads fight for Page, however despite rocking Gonzalez twice in the final round lost a decision. Again, it seemed the right time to retire.

Page boxed on, coming off the floor in February 2000 to stop the big punching prospect Terrence Lewis in an electrifying brawl, only to injure his shoulder against Robert Davis and have to retire after 8 rounds. At 42 Page's body was betraying him, however he returned in March 2001 for what would be his final fight against Dale Crowe. Although there are conflicting reports on the nature of the fight, Page apparently had an easy fight and was ahead after 9 rounds, until being decked by a right hand in the 10th (some say a push). It seems in hitting the back of his head on the bottom rope and then the canvas, Page suffered a subdural hematoma and slipped into a coma.^[2] The subdural hematoma was removed surgically though while recovering, Page then suffered a stroke.^[3] The damage left him paralyzed on his left side and confined him to a wheelchair.

There has been much debate over what precisely caused Page's injury, and many have lobbied for more strict officiating and enforcement of boxing rules since the injury. Doctors and journalists have debated over whether Page's injuries were caused by a punch,^[4] as Page's knockdown was the result of a push from Crowe. Journalists have also questioned the padding of the ring,^[5] while others have questioned the medical support available at the site as contributing to Page's condition.^[6]

[edit] Recovery

Page suffered many complications from his injury for the rest of his life. On March 1, 2005 he was hospitalized from pneumonia and put on a ventilator. On February 24, 2006 he was hospitalized for acute respiratory failure, sepsis, hypothermia, and seizures. On November 27, 2006 he was hospitalized again with pneumonia, but was released a month later.^[7] In 2007, Page won a $1.2 million settlement with Kentucky boxing officials over the lack of medical personnel at the fight against Crowe.^[8]

In 2006, due to the injuries suffered by Greg Page in his final fight, the governing body of Kentucky, the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Authority, revamped the boxing regulations in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to bring them more in line with the Federal regulations. As part of Page's lawsuit settlement, these regulations are named "The Greg Page Boxing and Safety Initiative."

[edit] Death

On Monday, April 27, 2009, Page died in his sleep. His wife, Patricia, stated he died from ongoing complications of his 2001 injury.^[9]

[edit] Amateur achievements

• 1977 National AAU Heavyweight champion, defeating Woody Clark. Page was named the tournament's outstanding boxer.
• 1978 National AAU Heavyweight champion
• 1978 National Golden Gloves Heavyweight Champion
• Decisioned Igor Vysotsky, the man who twice beat Cuban legend Teofilo Stevenson.
• Beat future champ Tony Tubbs six out of seven times during their amateur career.
• Lost close decision to Michael Dokes in semifinals of 1976 National Golden Gloves in Miami.
• Won the 1976 Ohio State Fair, upsetting National AAU champion Marvin Stinson.
• Entered the 1974 Nationals as an underaged 15 year old.
• Finished career at 90-11, 55 knockouts.
• Lost a close decision to John Tate in the 1975 National Golden Gloves Tournament in quarterfinals.
• Beat future pro foes James Tillis and Renaldo Snipes in National Golden Gloves fights.
• 1977 National Golden Gloves Finalist, losing to Jimmy Clark.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• AP Obituary in the Louisville Courier-Journal
• Professional boxing record for Greg Page from Boxrec

Sporting positions
Preceded by Marvin Stinson	United States Amateur Heavyweight Champion 1977 – 1978	Succeeded by Tony Tubbs
Preceded by Gerrie Coetzee	Heavyweight boxing champion (WBA) 1984–1985