David Bey vs. Greg Page Aug 31, 1984

How can getting knocked out in the 59th second of extra/error time not be a controversy?
I'd be surprised if this wasn't considered controversial in the South African press. Obviously American magazines would dwell less on it.

 

Did Greg Page ever lose a fight when he was "on form" and focussed ?
Did he ever lose to anyone who could beat him at his best ?

 

Not sure what to tell you. Nobody cared. Really. At least here in the States.

 

Well, Greg Page and Gerrie Coetzee were hardly household names. Not exactly a Super Fight.
The AP report in the NY Times stated :

December 2, 1984

SUN CITY, Bophuthatswana, Dec. 1 (AP) - Greg Page won the World Boxing Association heavyweight title tonight when he pounded Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa to the canvas in the eighth round of a tumultuous fight that ended in confusion and controversy.

In an earlier bout, Piet Crous, a 29- year-old insurance claims manager from South Africa, won a unanimous decision to upset the W.B.A. junior heavyweight champion, Ossie Ocasio of Puerto Rico.

Page appeared narrowly ahead on points when the end came suddenly through a left-right combination that knocked Coetzee on his back. Coetzee was counted out by Referee Issidro Rodriguez of Venezuela.

But there was much confusion as to when the knockout occurred. Well before Page decked Coetzee, spectators at ringside were shouting at the timekeeper, Phil Swart, that the three- minute round had ended. There were estimates that the eighth round actually went as many as 40 seconds past the three-minute limit.

 

Yeah, I remember all that. I read about it quite a bit at the time. The controversy about it lasted about as long as it took to write the respective articles. All I'm saying is that it wasn't much more than a ripple, and not a soul questioned the authenticity of Page's win despite that. After all, Coetzee had equal chances in that extra minute.

 

I understand that. I guess nobody much cared about Greg Page and his "WBA heavyweight title" either, to be honest.

 

I think by that point Greg's career had already been pretty well tainted. He had accumulated four losses including at least one to an unknown and put forth a few less than pretty performances. That and the WBA was changing hands so often that people likely lost track and didn't care.

 

I'd rate Page behind Thomas, Witherspoon, Holmes and Bey at that point in time.
That makes him 5th among a heavyweight division that most people considered shabby all over.
RING magazine were generous enough to put him in front of Bey and Witherspoon off of the Coetzee win, despite them having recently defeated him.
But, yes, the WBA title was certainly losing its prestige.

 

I've never understood their ratings and haven't given them credibility for some time. This morning you and I were discussing the Holyfield vs Stewart fight on another thread. When those two met for the first time in November of 1989, the WBA had Alex stewart as their #2 contender. I mean seriously?? All of his 24 fights had been against trial horses. His last several featured Terry Armstrong (8-8), Fernando Montes ( 23-21 ), Michael Johnson ( 14-12 ), Arthel Lawhorne ( 21-13 ), Dave Jaco ( 20-16 ), etc, etc.. I think I even heard someone back then mention that he was floored in the Terry Armstrong fight though I can't verify it.. Unbelievable that this guy was ranked anywhere NEAR #2..

 

Yes, and let's not forget they stripped George Foreman for not fighting Tony Tucker in 1995.
And I think Lewis was stripped in 2000 for failing to fight John Ruiz.

But, of course, these days, in 2017, the WBA have taken it to another level of absurdity. They have about 3 or 4 "world titles", from what I can gather. I've heard names such as Lucas Browne, Fres Oquendo and Shannon Briggs being put forward.

 

You're right about Page being in shape for Coetzee, despite weighing 236.

In the World Boxing article that Ryan or Farhood wrote reporting on the fight Janks Morton was quotes as saying Page trained very hard for the fight.

You really know your stuff.

We must have been reading the same stories way back then. LOL.

 

Yep.. In 1995 they had Tony Tucker at #1 and Bruce Seldon at #2 contesting for their vacant belt. So in other words the WBA had both of them ranked higher than Lewis and Bowe !!! And yes there was talk not long ago about a WBA title fight between a 200 year old Shannon Briggs and the obscure Lucas Browne.

 

Bey was definitely a well-regarded prospect long before he defeated Greg Page.
His pro debut was against a decent boxer, a 5-0 Buster Douglas. Bey won by KO.
In his 8th fight he defeated the well-known gatekeeper George Chaplin.
Bey was no mug.