Source : Itv Boxing

Greg Page turned 49 this week. But the big man won't have been doing much celebrating.


In fact the Louisville fighter tragically can't do much of anything these days after the fight game rendered him paralysed completely down his left side.


The man who was once dubbed "the next Ali" lives in obscurity and his life is a constant struggle, the most tragic figure of the 'Lost Generation' of 1980s heavyweights.


The phone doesn't ting much for Page these days, but there was a time when he was the hottest ticket in boxing.


After winning the Nation Golden Gloves and compiling a more-than-respectable 90-11 amateur record, Page (who boxing historian Bert Sugar rated as "one of the greatest amateurs I ever saw") turned pro amid a wave of publicity.


In the late 1970s Ali was on the wane and boxing needed a new star. It didn't hinder Page's cause that he hailed from the same town as 'The Greatest' and Ali himself reckoned the silky-skilled, outgoing Page had what it takes to go all the way to the top of the heavyweight mountain.


His progress was swift and by 1982 he had racked up 19 straight wins. He was then matched with Jamaica's Trevor Berbick, the man who had ended Ali's career on a sad, melancholy night in Nassau six months previously.

Page was as game as a pebble against Berbick but his inexperience cost him and he dropped a decision at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.


Undaunted, he reeled off four straight wins to land himself a crack at the WBC heavyweight title against Tim Witherspoon.


'Terrible' Tim won a decision to hand Page his second loss and his third defeat wasn't lomg in coming as David Bey beat him in his very next fight.

Boxing is a funny business however and it's surprising how a loss or two can open doors and on December 1 1984 Page challenged Gerrie Coetzee for the WBA title.


The South African was a big betting favourite to retain but big Greg scored a stunning eighth round KO and he came away from Sun City in South Africa as the new heavyweight champion of the world.


It had taken him years to reach the top but his reign would be sickeningly brief as Tony Tubbs, another prominent member of that 'Lost Generation', decisioned him in New York.


It would be his final world-title fight but he would carry on the in the hardest game of all for a further 17 years.


He went from champion to name opponent for the likes of Orlin Norris, Donovan 'Razor' Ruddock and James 'Buster' Douglas to feast on.


The glory days were well and truly gone but he made the news briefly in 1989 when he dropped the then seemingly indestructible Mike Tyson badly in sparring as the iron one finished his preparations for a title defence against Douglas.


Despite putting together a fine run in the mid-1990s Page could never again hope to scale the heights he did during his 1980s pomp and as his skills diminished and reflexes slowed, so the defeats began to pile up.


By the time he agreed to fight Dale Crow for a few hundred bucks and something called the Kentucky State heavyweight title this supremely gifted athlete was a fleshy, ponderous man of middle age.


Tragedy struck amid the smoky walls of the Peel's Palace nightclub as Page was knocked out in the 10th.


He suffered a massive stroke and a traumatic brain injury.


He has not been able to walk unaided since and spends most of his days at home watching TV or reading messages of support from the few people who do remember him.


The years roll by and the medical bills continue to mount, so as he enters his 50th year it may be worth remembering and saying a silent prayer for one of boxing's forgotten soldiers.