Page wants to unify the welterweight championship

Dean Juipe

Thursday, July 22, 1999 | 9:45 a.m.

There's no escaping the fact that even knowledgeable boxing fans refer to James Page as "the other" welterweight champion.

In terms of prestige, the World Boxing Association champion is no match for WBC champ Oscar De La Hoya or IBF champ Felix Trinidad at 147 pounds. Those men are well known even within the general public.

But Page, who is headlining Saturday's card at the Flamingo Hilton, takes an all-in-due-time approach to his lack of celebrity. He figures if he can continue winning, fame and its accompanying fortunes will eventually come his way.

"It doesn't bother me at all," he said Wednesday before working out at the Nevada Partners gym, referring to his position as the least known of the champions at this relatively popular weight. "De La Hoya and Trinidad have been there for a while, so they deserve whatever they get.

"I'm just arriving. I got a later start."

While Page won consecutive silver medals in national Golden Gloves competition as a teen, what delayed his start in the professional ranks was incarceration in prison for credit-card fraud. But, as has happened with many youngsters, he returned to boxing and feels it saved him.

"I never gave up my dream," he said of the time he spent behind bars. "I was still ambitious and I knew what I wanted."

Nonetheless, he still had a rocky road to travel to reach the top. Signing with Top Rank as he turned pro in 1990, Page had only mixed success and was beaten by both Zack Padilla and future champion Stevie Johnston in his first 12 fights.

He later switched promoters to Don King Productions but a third loss, to unheralded Robert West, set him back in 1996.

Yet King stuck with him and used his influence to move Page through the WBA rankings as the Californian rebounded to up his record to 21-3 before receiving a title fight with Andrei Pestriaev in October of '98. Page won that fight by second-round knockout and followed it up with a decision win in a tough defense against Jose Luis Lopez.

Page, now 24-3 with 18 KOs, has fought once since and while he defeated Sam Garr by decision in March on the Evander Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis card in New York, no one -- himself included -- was satisfied with that performance.

"I was going through a lot of personal problems in my life and with my trainer," he said. "I went out there that night against Garr just trying to get a win."

Afterward, Page dumped trainer Willie Rush and hired former champion Buddy McGirt to replace him. He said he felt he had to do something to improve.

"Rush and I would get into arguments," he said. "He's from the old school and we just didn't click. It worked for a while but I wasn't learning the tricks of the trade like I am now with Buddy.

"Buddy and I are like best friends. He's young and I'm young. I respect him."

Page, 28, is fighting ex-champ Freddie Pendleton on the Flamingo card. On paper it's a one-sided affair, with Pendleton not ranked by any organization and 36 years old. He's also an unflattering 44-23-4, including a 1-4-1 record in world title fights.

Local oddsmaker Herb Lambeck has Page as a 30-to-1 betting favorite.

"He's not washed up," Page protested. "I saw him in his last fight (Dec. 18 vs. Freddy Rojas in Ft. Lauderdale) and he won that fight by (seventh-round) knockout. I don't even think he's close to being washed up, so I'll mind my P's and Q's."

Pendleton, who has fought professionally since 1981, is unlikely to disrupt Page's future plans, which at some point will include his mandatory defense against Denmark's Frank Olsen. Down the road, Page expects Trinidad to defeat De La Hoya and to get a shot at the IBF champion next year.

"When Don King signed me it was because he had seen what I could do and he put me in a position to win a title," Page said. "Now my goal is to unify the championship and I think the fact that Trinidad and I both fight for King will make it easy to put that fight together. That would be huge."

But, first things first and for Page that means putting the lackluster fight with Garr -- which, unfortunately for him, was seen by millions -- behind him.

"I'm not a shot fighter," he said. "I still work hard and I still have goals. Even if the fight with Trinidad never happens, there are a lot of good guys coming up at 147 and I'm still learning to fight at a higher level.

"I may not be a complete fighter yet, but I hope I will be someday."