Boxing has always been a major factor in Louisville sports, continuing this tradition was Greg Page. Page’s story is firmly rooted in area boxing beginning when Page was a fresh faced fifteen year old training with the Louisville Parks department, specifically with Leroy Emerson.
In the mid-70’s Page began working as an amateur defeating the likes of Igor Vysotsky, a heavy handed Russian fighter in the midst of the Cold War.
Just a short time later, Page went on to win the AAU Heavyweight Championship twice and the National Heavyweight Golden Gloves championship once.
With the resume Page had built going pro was an obvious direction for the fighter, and so he began his professional career in his hometown at the commonwealth convention center in 1979 where he knocked out Don Martin.
An impressive rise followed as Page raked up a 13-0 record, twelve of the thirteen coming by way of knockout. Then in 1981 Page continued the tradition set up by a former sparring partner, Muhammad Ali, by winning the USBA heavyweight title after defeating Stan Ward.
What followed was a strong showing for the boxer who remained constantly in the top fighters in the world even when he didn’t hold a belt.
Page remained in the upper echelon of boxing until 1993, when he lost to Bruce Sheldon. After the fight Page announced that he would be retiring from the sport officially.
That didn’t mean, however, that Page had abandoned boxing as he throughout the mid-90’s worked as a trainer and corner man for a number of fighters.
In 1996 Page surprised a number of boxing insiders when he returned to the ring, explaining that he was training guys to beat fighters he could beat. Stepping back into the ring, Page proceeded to win sixteen fights, with fifteen knockouts. This streak was cut short after Monte Barrett handily defeated the former champ.
None the less, it’s Page’s tenacity and work ethic that make him a sports legend of the ‘Ville.
Image courtesy of BoxRec
Outside Sources
