Greg Page Gone, but Not Forgotten: A look Back at the Former WBA Heavyweight Champion of the World
Exclusive Interview by “Bad” Brad Berkwitt (Copyrighted Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime, 2002)
Remember these words,”MANDATORY RETIREMENT FUND”? I have been calling for one for the last four years that would include medical coverage for all fighters. If boxing had one, would I be doing an article to help draw attention to the plight of former WBA Heavyweight Champion, Greg Page?
Yes, I would be interviewing him, but it would it have to start out on a sad note. Reality is, there is sadness in this story, but much cheer as well. On December 1, 1984 in Sun City, South Africa, Page cemented his place in boxing history by dethroning then WBA Heavyweight Champion Gerrie Coetzee, via an eighth round knockout.
Page would lose his title in his first defense against Tony Tubbs via a 15 round decision. He would go on to fight for several years, but he would not find the same successes as he did earlier in his career. However, his dream of becoming a top contender and challenging for another world title would not go away. This dream would lead to tragedy when, on March 9, 2001, Page would face journeyman, Dale Crowe in a fight that was staged in Erlanger, Kentucky.
In this fight, which would be Page’s last, he was knocked out in the tenth round. Page was carried from the ring and slipped into a coma, shortly after. There was much speculation on that night whether Page should have even been cleared to fight.
We may never know the answer to him being cleared to fight, but I feel that if a mandatory retirement fund were in place, it may have deterred Page from coming back, like so many other fighters before him have done. As I said earlier, there is sadness in this story, but rather than leave you on a sad note, just remember, Page was a champion in the ring, and currently, he is fighting like a champion out of the ring to gain as much normalcy in his life as he can.