LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Greg Page Way meets Muhammad Ali Boulevard at Second Street, but the two heavyweight champions crossed gloves much earlier in life. Page's competitors, and the families of the men who trained him, gathered for the dedication of the street name.
"When Greg sparred with Muhammad Ali," Bruce Martin recalled, "Ali kinda beat Greg up a little bit. I think he didn't wanna be like Muhammad Ali no more. You know what I'm saying?"
The Louisville Defender described a 19-year-old Page as a sensation, speculating he would become yet another of Louisville's greatest. They were right, but Page's legacy is touched by tragedy too.
After his final fight in 2001, Page suffered a stroke that left half his body paralyzed. He sued because of a lack of medical staff on site, which led to improved safety regulations in Kentucky boxing and awarded him $1.2 million in damages. Page died two years after the settlement.
Now, fifteen years after his death, Page's boxing buddies feel his presence.
"Greg Page, I know you looking down on us and you finally got what you deserve," Tyrone Moore said, eyes heavenward.
He also remembered the name Page gave him. "He couldn't hit me, right," Moore said, going on to imitate Page, "'Daggone Tyrone, tryna hit you is like tryna hit a fly.' And the name stuck, Tyrone Flymoore."
Moore, a top 10 boxer back in Page's heyday, knew Page packed a champion's punch.
"Every person who lives and comes through this city is a champion in their own right. And what Councilman Baker and I are wanting to do today is to create what we call champion's row," Louisville Ambassador Barbara Sexton Smith said.
Champion's Row begins at South First Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard with Marvin Hart Way. He was the first of four heavyweight champions from Louisville, the most any city in the world has ever produced.
Hart won his world title in 1905; Page followed in 1984. With this moment over a hundred years in the making, the crowd hopes the fighters will inspire the next Louisville champion.
"May these streets forever bear witness to the legacy of Marvin Hart and Greg Page," Councilman Phillip Baker said, "and may they serve as a reminder to all who shall pass, that within us lies the potential for greatness."
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