00:00And so, let's talk with Jerry Cooney, who's in the arena tonight, and we will be back in Detroit at ringside at the Joe Lewis Arena.
00:09Okay, we're back live at ringside in the Joe Lewis Arena, and presently, I am without communication, A, with my producer in the truck, and B, my monitors are not working.
00:23The picture comes back, so we can see where we are. Where is the ring? As it presently is.
00:32And right there, you're looking at an earlier fighter in an earlier fight. The Spanish Bull, that's what they used to call him, Alfredo Evangelista.
00:42Now, that kid's a fighter. That's a kid Jerry Cooney has to look out for. That's a kid I covered when he was an amateur, from Louisville, Kentucky.
00:50The name, Greg Page, and he weighed in at over 230. I think he's at his best at 220. That's for his trainer to decide.
01:00But this kid is quick-handed and quick-footed. Keeps his hands down low in the manner of Ali.
01:05When I first saw him as an amateur, I thought he had the potential to be the best since Ali, and I say that in the presence of Jerry Cooney, who's sitting next to me.
01:14Look at that flicking left. Evangelista. No match for him. Oh, an occasional right, as you saw there.
01:22But that long flicking left. And notice the use of the ring. It was, as I told you in the main event, a 20-foot, 6-inch ring.
01:30And Jerry Cooney is studying this round as intently as you at home, I hope, may be.
01:36Because he knows the day may come when there'll be a showdown between him, Jerry Cooney, and young Greg Cage.
01:44Greg told me after this bout, he finished Evangelista off in the second round.
01:49He said that title must come back to Louisville.
01:52And he's not abashed about the fact that he fights in the manner of the once youthful and great Ali.
01:59Look at the quickness of those hands, Jerry. The combinations.
02:03And don't be misled, he has awesome power.
02:06He proved it in the second round when Evangelista was knocked out.
02:10But this was first-round action, shown to give you a glimpse of what Greg Cage is like now.
02:19See the movement?
02:20When he keeps his hands on his sides, it's because he's a master at slipping punches with his head.
02:29The head goes side to side. The head moves back.
02:33And somehow stays substantially out of range.
02:36You see the countdown around one in the lower right-hand corner of your screen.
02:44Once I saw this kid, excuse me, one minute, Jerry, a point I want to make.
02:49I did Greg Page against the second Cuban heavyweight, who's now really the first, on Hel Mion in Houston, Texas a few years ago.
02:58This kid learns.
03:00Because he had Mion beat up in the first round and then fell prey to Mion's style, relaxed, and Mion won the fight.
03:07And Page knew it.
03:08You were going to say, Jerry.
03:11I was at home watching that fight.
03:13What?
03:14I was at home watching the fight when you were there, and he was fighting the Cuban heavyweight.
03:18That's right. And he learned a big lesson that day, Jerry.
03:21I've seen Greg Page fight in Madison Square Garden on the Ali Holmes fight card.
03:27And I saw him get hit on the chin by the name of Bigfoot Johnson.
03:30And his career was almost stopped right there.
03:33He got hit with a right hand and was on Queer Street for the rest of the round.
03:36He's a talented fighter, but he's got no defense at all.
03:41No defense.
03:42All these guys who's fighting are staying away from him.
03:44They're not putting any type of pressure on him.
03:46Okay.
03:47Maybe you're right.
03:48We shall see in time, because someday you're going to have a showdown with him.
03:52Hey, Jerry.
03:53Thanks again.
03:53It's a pleasure.
03:55So that was the first round.
03:58Page against Evangelista.
04:00Evangelista was done away with in the second round, which we'll show you in just a minute.
04:06Again, the Joe Louis arena and round two.
04:10Evangelista in his corner.
04:12Greg Page in his.
04:14Page easily won the first round.
04:16Interesting comment Cooney made, because Jerry's an honest kid.
04:21Thinks Page is lacking severely in defense.
04:24Well, in this second round, you'll see Page on offense.
04:30I think Jerry underrates Greg's defense greatly, because I think he underrates his quickness.
04:35Right there.
04:36A good blow to the chin by Evangelista.
04:39But I think you'll discover that Page can take a punch.
04:44There.
04:44That right.
04:45He was moving away from Evangelista, and still the right got to him.
04:49And Evangelista having trouble getting up.
04:53Finally.
04:54Doing it.
04:54Page has great power with either fist.
04:57What evidence in that right.
05:00Look at him measure.
05:01Now it's just a cleaning up.
05:03That was it for Evangelista.
05:06And so, Greg Page with, for him, a big victory.
05:10And the young man, understandably jubilant.
05:13The way it was earlier tonight in the Joe Lewis Arena, as Greg Page did away with his opponent.
05:21It's been a kind of wild night, unexpectedly so.
05:25First, there was Michael Doakes, normally not a puncher, who suddenly stood flat-footed and became a puncher.
05:33But I'll get to that in a minute.
05:35Slow motion of Greg Page here in action against Evangelista.
05:39Look at that right, the left to the belly, the left to the head, and the Spanish Bull was no longer.
05:47Then, in more slow motion, I would think you've seen about enough of this.
05:56There went the ball.
06:00Second round knockout by Greg Page.
06:03Not a TKO.
06:04Oh, there was Greg after the fight, winking at me, because, well, he started as an amateur, and I did most of his amateur fights.
06:15In the meantime, here in the Joe Lewis Arena this evening, it started with Chris Schenkel bringing you Michael Doakes against the European heavyweight champion, John Gardner.
06:26Gardner had never been knocked out.
06:28Doakes fought differently.
06:29Never possessed, seemingly, of a punch.
06:32He stood flat-footed, and he knocked out John Gardner in the fourth round.
06:39It was a TKO.
06:41Now, in the Holmes-Sphinx fight, that was a TKO at 126 of the third round.
06:48We are apparently going to look at some replays again of that.
06:52Here it is.
06:53Larry Holmes, sphinx in the corner, the right, the left to the midsection, measuring him with the left, hitting him with the right, measuring him with the left again, calling him to set him up.
07:05The right uppercut.
07:07And it was merciless.
07:09Then the right again.
07:11That's Richard Steele, closely looking on the referee.
07:15Holmes criticized Steele after the match.
07:17Said he should have stopped it early.
07:19Jerry Cooney, an onlooker, said he thought that the fighter's eyes, Leon Sphinx's eyes, were clear, and he was surprised it was stopped.
07:28Again, I disagree there with Jerry.
07:31Sphinx's corner had thrown in the towel, but Steele said throwing in the towel didn't matter, and Steele's technically right about that.
07:38He said, I stopped it on my own.
07:41So it ended for Leon Sphinx.
07:44And still another replay.
07:46There it is again.
08:00Very innocently, as we return to the Joe Louis Arena, and I am apparently going to come back on camera with a non-bleeding lower lip, here is the wildness that occurred.
08:14I had interviewed Larry Holmes, he was his arm encased about his wife, as we discussed the fight against Leon Sphinx, which wound up as a mere workout for Larry.
08:26I think he proved something about himself as a fighter tonight.
08:30And then a production assistant espied Jerry Cooney as I began to talk to Larry about a potential fight against Jerry Cooney.
08:38The assistant brought Jerry over, Larry leaped to his feet, it was reminiscent of a studio scene I once had to go through between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier when both were in their prime.
08:51This time, Larry's elbow inadvertently hit me on the lower lip, causing a very mild flow of blood.
09:00And I suspect deep concern on the part of my Lady Emmy at home watching the telecast.
09:06Fortunately, no damage done.
09:09Cooney conducted himself as a perfect gentleman.
09:12I have always found Larry Holmes to be a perfect gentleman.
09:16I think he made a terrible mistake tonight, but it was an outburst, impetuous, impulsive.
09:24I'm sorry he did it.
09:25If I know Larry Holmes, he's sorry he did it too.
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