Greg Page former WBA heavyweight champion signed (gold sharpie) and dated "02" action shot 8" x 10" photo.

Price: £35

Greg Page (October 25, 1958 – April 27, 2009). 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.

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.

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).

USBA Heavyweight Champion
Page won the vacant USBA USBA Heavyweight title on February 11, 1980 beating the dangerous veteran Stan Ward on an eye injury in seven rounds.
The USBA belt is essentially the 'American Championship', and until the explosion of meaningless 'alphabet soup' boxing belts in the 1990's, the USBA title was a rare and highly regarded belt that automatically gained fighters a high ranking, quality opponents, and television exposure. In modern boxing this is no longer the case.

Page made three defences of the title in 1981, knocking out the puncher Marty Monroe in five rounds, winning another tight decision over George Chaplin, and knocking Scott LeDoux out in four one-sided rounds in the Bahamas. He also demolished the Spaniard Alfredo Evangelista in two rounds, who had previously gone 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali and seven rounds with Larry Holmes in world title challenges.

In 1982 Page retained his USBA belt by punching out a wide unanimous decison over defensive master (and former George Foreman conqueror) Jimmy Young, but then on the big Larry Holmes/Gerry Cooney card in Las Vegas Page was derailled by dangerous Jamaican Trevor Berbick.

Page had a reputation for being overweight, but for the Berbick fight trimmed down to 224 lbs. He struggled with the powerful Berbick's swarming style, and was outhustled over 10 rounds. Berbick would later win the WBC World Heavyweight Title.

In November Page returned with a defence of his USBA belt against dangerous 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.

First Title Shot
In 1984 Larry Holmes abandoned the WBC Heavyweight title in favor of the IBF Championship. Page and Tim Witherspoon were the top two contenders who fought for the vacant title. Page was considered a favorite to win title, but Witherspoon pulled an upset, winning a 12-round decision on March 9, 1984. Following that fight, on August 31, 1984 Page dropped another 12-round decision to David Bey, who took Page's USBA title.

Second Title Shot
Following the losses to Witherspoon and Bey, many considered Page's days as a heavyweight championship contender to be over. However, South African Gerrie Coetzee agreed to put his WBA heavyweight championship on the line. Coetzee had pulled a stunning upset over Michael Dokes to win the title and was considered an overwhelming favorite—especially since the fight was taking place in his native Sun City. Page made the most of his opportunity and scored a stunning 8th-round knockout on December 1, 1984 to win the WBA title from Coetzee.

Downward Spiral
Page's championship reign was short-lived. On April 29, 1985, in his first defence, he lost a 15-round decision to Tony Tubbs and lost his WBA Heavyweight championship. Following that loss, Page did not fight until 1986 where he lost a January 17, 1986 decision to future heavyweight champion James "Buster" Douglas.

Page continued fighting, but his career spiraled into oblivion, including losses to Joe Bugner and Mark Willis. On February 15, 1992 Razor Ruddock scored an 8th-round TKO over Page; however, three months later on June 26, 1992, Page scored a 10-round decision over former WBA Heavyweight Champion James "Bonecrusher" Smith.
Perhaps the greatest post-championship highlight was his knockdown of Mike Tyson during a sparring session while Tyson was sparring for his fight with Douglas.

On August 6, 1993, Page lost by TKO in the ninth round to future WBA Heavyweight Champion Bruce Seldon and temporarily retired.

Comeback
Page returned to the ring in 1996 and won 14 straight fights (including 10 in 1997). Tragedy would soon strike, however. After a loss to up-and-coming contender Monte Barrett in 1998, Page's ring skills noticeably began to diminish and he morphed from comeback former champion to journeyman foe. Then in a March 9, 2001 fight against Dale Crowe, Page suffered a Subdural hematoma and slipped into a coma. The Subdural hematoma was removed surgically though while recovering, Page then suffered a Stroke. 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, as Page's knockdown was the result of a push from Crowe. Journalists have also questioned the padding of the ring, while others have questioned the medical support available at the site as contributing to Page's condition.

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. In 2007, Page won a $1.2 million settlement with Kentucky boxing officials over the lack of medical personnel at the fight against Crowe.

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."

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