Greg Page (October 25, 1958 – April 27, 2009) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1979 to 2001, and held the WBA heavyweight title from 1984 to 1985.
He was also a regular sparring partner for Mike Tyson, famously knocking down the then-undefeated world champion during a 1990 session.
Page, after a brief stint with a Southern Indiana trainer, started amateur boxing at age 15 under the tutelage of Leroy Emerson at the Louisville Parks Department gym in the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood.
In 1976, at the USA–USSR Duals at the Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Page scored a major victory when he defeated Igor Vysotsky, a top-ranked heavyweight amateur boxer in the world, who never has been knocked down,[1] the big punching Russian who twice beat the legendary Cuban and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist Teofilo Stevenson.
Page turned pro in February 1979, knocking out Don Martin in two rounds before a crowd of 7,500 at the Commonwealth Convention Center in Louisville.
Page won the vacant USBA Heavyweight title on February 7, 1981, with a seventh-round TKO of Stan Ward.
After knocking out Marty Monroe and Alfredo Evangelista, Page had a rematch with George Chaplin and won by a twelve-round split decision.
Fighting with a broken right thumb from the second round, Page lost for the first time as a professional, dropping a ten-round unanimous decision to Berbick.
In addition, Page had contacted his lawyer in March of that year to drop his ranking in the WBA from #2 to #3, behind Michael Dokes.
In 1983, Page retained the USBA title again, beating Renaldo Snipes over twelve rounds and taking his WBC #1 ranking.
Incensed over money troubles with promoter Don King, Page had gone on strike in the gym and arrived out of shape for the bout.
When Bey refused to fight reigning WBA heavyweight title holder Gerrie Coetzee in Sun City, South Africa due to Apartheid, Page stepped in.
Frequently out of shape, Page also lost to Orlin Norris in a title fight and even to the journeyman Mark Wills.
Page became a regular sparring partner for reigning World Heavyweight Champion Mike Tyson in the late 1980s and boxed on several of his undercards.
Page gave Ruddock a hard time before being rocked by a series of big shots in the eighth round, which caused the referee to stop the contest.
In August 1993 Page boxed future WBA Heavyweight Champion Bruce Seldon and was stopped in the ninth round.
Crowe said, "The timekeeper smacked the mat with his hand toward the end of the fight to indicate ten seconds were left, and that's when I went after Greg with one last flurry."
[10] Before the fight, Page's trainer, James Doolin, complained to several members of the state commission about the conditions, including the lack of oxygen.
[11] Page was taken to the emergency room at St. Luke's hospital, where a CT scan revealed a huge mass being formed by the bleeding inside his head.