Boxer Won Heavyweight Title in 1984

Greg Page, 50, a former heavyweight boxing champion who suffered a severe brain injury in a 2001 fight, died April 27 at his home in his native Louisville.

Jim Wesley, the deputy coroner for Jefferson County, Ky., said Mr. Page, who had irreversible brain damage, had slid from his hospital-type bed and died of asphyxia.

The 2001 fight in a seedy, rat-infested club left Mr. Page in a coma for nearly a week. He then had a stroke during surgery and was paralyzed on his left side and received intensive physical therapy.

Mr. Page won a $1.2 million settlement in 2007 with Kentucky boxing officials over the lack of medical personnel at the fight, but the state's boxing commission admitted no wrongdoing. Boxing officials agreed to establish a medical review panel to examine the health conditions of boxers at risk for injury.

Mr. Page started fighting as a child in Louisville and was trained by his father and uncles. In his teens, he sparred with Muhammad Ali.

"That boy hit me so hard," Ali said, "it jarred my kinfolks back in Africa."

Mr. Page was the National Golden Gloves heavyweight champion in 1978 at age 20 and had an amateur record of 94-11.

As a professional, he was considered talented but undisciplined and often battled weight problems. He lost his first shot at the World Boxing Association heavyweight championship in 1984 to Tim Witherspoon. In December of that year, Mr. Page knocked out Gerrie Coetzee in the eighth round of their bout in South Africa to claim the title. He lost his title to Tony Tubbs by decision in 1985.

Mr. Page quit boxing in 1993 to take a factory job but resumed his career in 1996, winning 20 of 25 bouts over four years. He was 42 when he took a $1,500 fight against Dale Crowe at Peels Palace in Erlanger, Ky., near Cincinnati on March 9, 2001. He was knocked down in the 10th round and didn't get up.

Mr. Page had physical therapy and other treatments and was able to communicate with his wife, Patricia Page, and others, but he remained largely bedridden for the rest of his life.

-- News Services and Staff Reports