The Razor Ruddock Chronicles – Greg Page: The Comeback
By Mike Plunkett
“This is a dangerous fight. Greg Page will desperately try to do anything to win” – Floyd Patterson
In boxing a fighter is often only as good as his last fight. Few fighters have the clout necessary to land a big payday and further opportunity immediately after a significant high stakes setback. Typically after such a loss it becomes a case of going back to the drawing board after all of the denial and soul searching has been dealt with. The same holds true in big business. Regardless of what got you there, you are really only a few steps from away from failure at any given time. The upward climb is long and arduous but the slide backwards can take just mere moments. In the case of Donovan “Razor” Ruddock, boxing opted to look the other way after his controversial first loss to former undisputed heavyweight champion “Iron” Mike Tyson, largely in part because of the compelling blend of chemistry and the big business it would surely generate. Such was the nature of the loss and the questions surrounding referee Richard Steele’s decision to call the fight that public demand warranted an immediate rematch. Further adding to that demand, nobody had forgotten the devastating nature by which “Razor” Ruddock dispatched his opponents leading into the bout with “Iron” Mike, or the way he initially attacked Tyson in the early stages of their match. The grit and heart Ruddock displayed made the public want to see more of him and the added controversy in the wake of the result made the need for a rematch the next logical and likely lucrative step. I looked at the rematch as a wiping of the slate, an opportunity for Ruddock to right the wrongs of his game; another chance to climb to the top of an unlikely mountain.
In the rematch Ruddock once again demonstrated the extreme grit and fighting spirit that had punctuated some of the more dramatic moments of his first encounter with Tyson. He also frustrated me greatly by not integrating an effective left jab into his strategy or by trying to keep the match on the outside where he could make the most of his physical advantages. At the end of twelve very trying and oft dirty rounds of inside fighting, a battered but not broken Ruddock came out short on a unanimous decision. Disappointed as I was with the result, I was perplexed at his lack of ring sense. Gone was the mobile boxer/puncher I had once envisioned taking over the division. He had become drunk with the notion of his power, eschewing the finer aspects of his game in favor of trying to force the knockout. Against a fighter as gifted and seasoned as the determined Mike Tyson, such two-dimensional strategy didn’t go far.
The rematch defeat was the type of gallant showing that didn’t send a fighter too far back in the rankings, nor did it dissuade the cable networks from expressing further interest in showcasing him with other known heavyweight commodities. The heavyweight title was something to aim for on another day. The immediate future would be about rebuilding momentum; enter Greg Page, 34-9, 27 KO’s and a former WBA heavyweight titlist.
Page was one of those fighters that displayed extraordinary early promise in a professional career that dated back to February 1979, to the point where a few notable names in the sport professed that he had more natural talent than a young Muhammad Ali. Like Ali, Page was from Louisville, Kentucky. Unlike Ali, Page lacked the focus and consistent desire to excel at the highest level, suffering periodic early defeat in bouts that he should have easily won. He appeared ill-prepared and suffering from an acute case of lethargy in a box-off for the vacant WBC heavyweight title in March 1984, losing a dreadful twelve-round majority decision to “Terrible” Tim Witherspoon, a veritable poster boy for heavyweight underachievement in the eighties. That showing was followed by another perplexing effort in which he was summarily outworked by a far less skilled albeit rugged opponent in David Bey. Further adding to the head scratching nature of that period and to the roller coaster ride that had become his career, Page was rewarded with an immediate title shot against Gerrie Coetzee, a talented South African with a purported “bionic right hand” and serious world class experience. It was against Coetzee where Greg Page finally lucked out, demonstrating a semblance of skill, focus and conditioning, landing the correct series of punches and ultimately walking away with the major world title that many had previously predicted for him. In his next bout, Page resumed his prior form, losing a unanimous fifteen round decision and his title to Tony “TNT” Tubbs.
Curiously, by the time Greg Page had lucked out for one last shot at the big stage, “Razor” Ruddock, 25-3-1, 18 KO’s was looking for some marquee fodder of his own in order to re-establish himself among the top names of the heavyweight division. It didn’t hurt that the most recent moment of notoriety Page had was the well-circulated flooring of Mike Tyson in sparring during his prep for James “Buster” Douglas. It was an angle used time and again to underline the Kentuckian’s net worth as a comeback opponent for Ruddock despite the fact that a full decade’s worth of water had passed under the bridge since his best days in the ring.
February 15th, 1992 is a date I will not forget. Having kept my finger firmly on the pulse of a Ruddock/Page bout, I hoped that we would see the best of both men; that Ruddock would be looking to face the best possible variant of Greg Page as opposed to expecting a walkover. Where Page was concerned, I hoped that we would see a conditioned variant of the man that had flattened Coetzee and rocked Tyson. When I read of the results of their weigh-in, my anticipation towards the contest grew. “Razor” tipped the scales at a beefy 239lbs whereas Page had obviously done some serious homework measuring in at a svelte 228. Another ironic aspect of this contest that was not lost upon me, it was almost exactly thirteen years to the day that Page had embarked upon his professional career. That factoid in and of itself lent an almost poetic spin to the matter in my mind. It was as though time had come full circle and he was once again recommitted to starting all over – years after it had begun. I couldn’t help but think we might see a fight.
At the bell to start the bout, a ten-round main event, Page came out of his corner, immediately throwing a long and awkward right hand meant for the body of Ruddock, missing as “Razor” circled to his left, bouncing on spry legs. Trading left jabs, Ruddock continued to circle to his left a step or so ahead of Page, angling to scope a clear target for his vaunted “Smash”. After a quick exchange that saw a solid right hand land squarely on Ruddock’s chin, both fighters tied-up, an act that not only momentarily allowed Ruddock to regroup, but demonstrated the inside physical strength and serious intent of the former WBA heavyweight champion, a man previously known for underachievement and episodes of lethargy. However on this night, that variant of Greg Page was nowhere in sight. Resuming the action, Page missed a long left jab as Ruddock dipped suddenly to his left, unleashing a wild hybrid left hook/uppercut that looked to have the potential to decapitate Page. It was only a slightly toned down version of the torso-twisting “Smash” Ruddock unleashed in the early seconds of the first Tyson encounter, and just like in that fight, it missed the intended target by a mere flash. The early moments of movement mixed with a semblance of a left jab hinted that Ruddock was approaching this comeback with a more measured approach than had been the case in his most recent high profile bouts.
I was encouraged to see him fighting an outside fight, but what I perceived to be a lapse of focus, the moment where he launched that wild hybrid left “Smash” served as a clear indication that “Razor” was looking for a brutal knockout, likely in the hope of serving notice that he was indeed back and that he’d be willing to shift gears the moment he saw any kind of opening. The problem with that fan-friendly approach was that Page was no Mike Rouse, rather he was a seemingly rejuvenated and refocused version of the man that some had once observed had more natural gifts than the great Muhammad Ali, and for this bout, given all that was at stake, there was simply too much risk in assuming that the Kentuckian could not reach back a full decade for one night of glory in the face of unquestionable opportunity. It was also polar opposite to the controlled approach his new trainer, former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson had outlined for him. The “new” and controlled Ruddock was quickly reverted to the wild and anxious “Razor”.
Resuming his outside game, Ruddock found that he could match and at-times better the war of left jabs, but all too often there was no opportunity to deliver his power where it would have marked effect. When both fighters did tie-up in ring center, Page would work Ruddock’s body in close with either hand, digging as intently as Tyson did but without the same physical authority. Clearly Page had studied the inside game of Ruddock via the Tyson bouts, but unlike “Iron” Mike, was given to absorbing a portion of the wild counter’s his aggression invited. In the last minute of the round the action slowed measurably. Both were given to brawling in spurts, moments that saw Page land the right uppercut squarely but to no great effect on Ruddock. Seconds later a heavy left uppercut stunned Page, causing his legs to dip in mid-retreat. Looking to finish, “Razor” wildly spun around a full 360 degrees after missing a vicious follow-up “Smash”, another indication that the wind was all but gone from the sails of “measured approach”, not to say anything of technique.
As the rounds progressed Ruddock was forced to pursue Page who when he wasn’t standing in front of “Razor” unloading right hands to the body, was given to awkward fits of movement designed to negate the possibility of load-up on the part of the Canadian. None of this resembled the first minute of the bout. In actuality, it had degenerated into a brawl, punctuated by moments of wild and often reckless aggression by Ruddock, contrasted by what appeared to be an increasingly desperate application of strategy by the aging former champ. Having long since assumed the game face of an experienced pro, Page would hold steadfast in his attempts to stay afoot, using a non-stop variety of angles when the moment called for it and absorbing the periodic power shots with the grace of a drunken sailor. In those moments where the aging fighter retreated to the ropes, whether out of need or due to design, Ruddock was unable to connect with blows in succession, affording the old legs of his foe the chance to regroup and head for ring center. Wild round-house left hooks that missed seemed to take more out of Ruddock than many of Page’s counters, and such ineffective aggression, as fierce and threatening as they may have appeared were capped with prolonged episodes of holding and grappling. One mere shot, apparently the ambition of “Razor”, would not be enough to end matters.
A look of frustration slipped through on Ruddock’s countenance with each missed left hook. Between rounds in the corner, Floyd Patterson was reduced to handing out controlled reminders of the needed tactics as opposed to handing out credit and angling his fighter forward to “the next step” in their game plan. Clearly both Ruddock and Patterson had spent considerable time working together based on their words, but there was an obvious disconnect in vision between them during the heat of the event. They were together but they were not a team. After a particularly sloppy ending to the sixth round, Patterson delivered the gentle rebuke of a grandfather to the increasingly winded Ruddock in the hopes of impressing the obvious upon him; “I’ve been saying it for the last three rounds, and I’m still gonna say it. All you have to do is slip his jab and land one shot to the body and it is all over. You haven’t thrown one shot to the body”.
Early in the seventh round, a series of left hooks and follow-up right hands for the most part whizzed past or over a covered-up Page, with only a few landing. The stepped-up aggression on “Razor’s” part made two things obvious; although his defense and ability to move made him a difficult target to hit, Page was in fact grinding down, and while Ruddock appeared to be getting a second wind, his penchant for ignoring his trainer’s instructions on attacking the body as opposed to head-hunting was glaring. The application of a few subtle defensive tricks from a near-exhausted Page was enough to throw Ruddock off any semblance of effective aggression. Head movement, sliding off the ropes or angling from side to side while under fire was just enough slight of hand to stave of sudden disaster. Watching all of this, I could not help but wonder how “Razor” could ever hope to win against the seasoned tactical prowess of the undisputed heavyweight champion, Evander Holyfield; an accomplished counter-puncher with the heart of an alley cat, or hope to somehow outfight then-accelerating top contender Riddick Bowe in an inside game of wits and power. He was struggling to look halfway decent against a man hanging by a thread whose best years were from an earlier, all but forgotten era of prizefighting.
Early in the eighth round after referee Joe Cortez had called a “time out” to reinsert a dislodged gum shield back into Page’s mouth, the third such effort on Cortez’ part in the bout, Ruddock took to circling his foe with outstretched arms as opposed to engaging him in the hopes of landing something big, by chance, as he had done repeatedly to that point in the match. Fielding a series of missed right-handed blows from Page that resulted in a clinch, Ruddock suddenly looked weary as he wrestled his foe on the inside, pushing him off only to repeat the cycle. Nothing of key note was landing by Page, but the disinclination to engage on Ruddock’s part hinted not only at exhaustion, but at resignation to the fact that Greg Page had the fire and the moves to absorb what “Razor” was able to land, and the price paid in doing so had in fact taken an unexpected toll. But just as I became acquainted with the notion that Ruddock would grind out a workmanlike distance win and in its wake, the criticism of the boxing world, and as the crowd favor seemed to shift ever so slightly towards the underdog, Ruddock shifted gears suddenly, turning into “The Razor”, missing a solid right hand followed by a heavy, thudding “Smash” that froze Page in his tracks. Another left hook that landed with less effect, followed by a resounding straight right hand saw Page wobble desperately to his right just as a huge left uppercut caught him squarely on the button, snapping his head to the side viciously as he fell back into the ropes. Bouncing off the ropes, Page absorbed two left hooks, the second being a vintage, almost picture-perfect variant of “The Smash”, causing him to sag to the third rope. As Ruddock closed in for the kill, Page demonstrated his undying desire to survive, working the ropes in the hopes of avoiding Ruddock’s telegraphed show-closers but not having the slickness associated with full faculty, absorbing the lion’s share of the attack. A weak right hand at the bell saw Page amble off the ropes, back to his corner on shaky legs. Credit to the wily resources of a desperate veteran for surviving, looking to hang onto what history will show us was his last chance. But it should be pointed out that Ruddock failed to temper the moment with the use of range as he flailed desperately for an explosive knockout, in too close to be completely effective. Barely making it back to his corner, and in a manner that would convince anybody that he no longer had full control of his movements, Joe Cortez waved the contest off, giving “Razor” Ruddock his comeback win, a result that the history books reflect as a TKO in the eighth round.
I remember shaking my head after this bout, something I seemed to be doing often after watching “Razor” perform, post-Dokes. I so badly wanted to see him use his size and foundational boxing skills to their utmost. The blend between those skills that he had displayed at the outset of his career and his vaunted power would have made him virtually unbeatable, but the commitment to his power, the love of his developed God-given ability to discombobulate had served to run him off of the highway to success. I wondered if Floyd Patterson would be able to get him to acknowledge the shortcomings of his ways and hoped that he would see the light. Looking back, I was becoming frustrated with “Razor”, wanting him to become something along the lines of a power-infused variant of Larry Holmes, unfair as that may now seem. All I could do was hope in his next appearance there would be some direction and control to his application and that he would get to the point where he could challenge the best heavyweights of the day without leaving himself wide open to certain disaster.