Page needed to dig for every ounce of resilience he could muster as a young titleholder in the comeback victory.

“So I went for the gusto and I was in great shape. I banged it out with him,” Page said. “I didn't try to box him, because he was just too strong. He could punch. Every time he touched me, he hurt me. So I just pretty much went for the gusto and I was in great shape. I got the win. To me, I knew what I had to think inside the ring that night.”

Page defeated Lopez via unanimous decision at the Atlantic City Convention Center in December 1998. He works to instill a similar desire and moxie in the fighters he works with, but he admits that what he did that evening can’t be taught in a gym.

“it is something you have to have in you,” he said.

Page also recalled a sparring session from decades ago in Big Bear Lake, California, against Oscar De La Hoya. Page was signed to Top Rank, as was De La Hoya, who was a belt holder at the time.

“So I was up there with him and Johnny Tapia,” Page said. “I literally hit Oscar with a left hook and dropped him and stopped him in the gym. That's my right hand to God right now. I will tell you right now that it happened.”

Page further explained that no one was allowed in training camp at the time, and the sparring session became folklore among those in the gym that day – though few outside of it were aware. Shortly after, Page found himself out of the camp and in Puerto Rico, sparring Wilfredo Rivera and living with Joel Casamayor.

Page is now helping many fighters around the gym for an upcoming card headlined by middleweight Amari Jones (12-0, 11 KOs), who will be making his hometown professional debut. Jones offers another opportunity for Page to emphasize to his young fighters the importance of playing boxing’s long game.

“I tell these young fighters every day, you’re not training for this four-round fight against this Tijuana taxi cab driver that you’re gonna be fighting,” Page said. “That’s just a term they use, not meant to be disrespectful – some Tijuana taxi cab driver that you are going to knock out in maybe a minute or two. If you don't train, who knows what this guy could do to you if you're not prepared. The main thing I tell these guys is to work hard, stay focused, and live clean. If you don’t, this is your career. If you don’t, that’s what destroys a fighter.”

Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.