I was going through some old tapes and came across this one. What an underrated fight. The boxer/puncher Page against the plodding bomber Lopez. Neither guy moves their head much and therefore took a lot of big punches. Really good ebb and flow to this fight. Page outworked Lopez in many rounds, but when Lopez opened up he was tagging and hurting Page. One of those fights without a lot of defense, both guys trying to break each other down. Neither Page nor Lopez really did anything after this fight. UD for Page, I had it 114-112. Any other fans of this fight out there?
Yeah that was a great fight. Both were pretty solid guys. Lopez probably could have done more if he was more serious about boxing, but both liked to mix it up so it was an exciting fight.
i agree, it was a very exciting fight. i remember lopez hurting page at least 4 or 5 times in the fight. lopez, very dangerous fighter in those spots.
He did, the problem with Lopez is that he never pressed his advantage, content to hurt a guy and then back off. Way too inactive in stretches. Same thing against Quartey, although Ike's jab is a very tough riddle to solve, admittedly.
Just the kind of fight boxing needs nowadays! Exciting with plenty of action. You never knew which way this fight would be won. Lopez did have Page hurt, but there was only ONE legitimate knockdown, and that was the one in the 2nd Round. The other was a complete slip at the same time Lopez was throwing a punch, but did not land. Not many top fighters wanted to face Lopez, so you have to give Page credit for stepping in there with such a dangerous fighter. King wouldn't deliver Tito to Page, afraid that Page would knockout his 'cash cow'.... De La Hoya and Arum (who Oscar was with at the time) did noT want ANY parts of Page. A year earlier to the Page/Lopez fight, Page had sparred w/Oscar up in Big Bear and made the Champ (Oscar) look bad for a couple days, after knocking him down in front of plenty.... i've heard many say they heard Oscar making whining noises while being curled up in a fetal position after the knockdown. They sent Page home the 2nd day, when he was to be there for Oscar for a week. We know it's late in years, but we hear Page is planning on a return to the ring at the first of the year ('12)
Loved these two guys. Lopez had the talent to be a great fighter... pissed it away on surfing and drugs.
