WBA Promoters

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif. - Roy Rogers once said “You can’t keep a good man down - especially if he keeps insisting on getting up.” He could have had promoter Dan Goossen in mind when he imparted that message.

Goossen, who has reinvented himself more times than Madonna, has turned triumph over adversity into an art form. While others might make lemonade out of lemons, Goossen seemingly - and effortlessly - turns it into lemon-flavored champagne.

Admidst the churning fortunes of his former employer (America Presents, which after bouncing checks all over the place last week joined forces with Cedric Kushner Promotions to stave off the crush of debt), Goossen’s new company, Goossen Tutor Promotions, has set up shop in the more than comfortable - but not fussy - surroundings of Sherman Oaks.

As word seeped out from under the rugs about the six-year old Colorado-based America Presents' dire circumstances, some of Goossen’s alleged antics while with the company fast became the subject of entertaining industry gossip.

Goossen did travel and entertain lavishly under the auspices of America Presents. But while company owner Mat Tinley complained about Goossen’s choice of The Four Seasons as his preferred abode, Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Kevin Iole reported that Tinley made these accusations from his own suite at the Four Seasons.

Goossen threw a lot of money at his fighters. In one example of excess, his brother, trainer Joe Goossen apparently bought heavyweight David Tua a $20,000 treadmill on America Presents’ money. As another trainer griped: “He should have bought him $20 running shoes and sent him out on the road.”

This era’s Goossen is sending new signee Lovemore Ndou out to the local park in Sherman Oaks to run, so maybe he’s learned a thing or two.

After making questionable decisions like signing heavyweight Lawrence Clay-Bey for $250,000 and installing mediocre fem fighter Freeda George Foreman in an apartment and providing her with a trainer, none of this is anywhere remotely near how Goossen-Tutor Promotions is handling business.

This incarnation of Dan Goossen is strictly back-to-the basics. This Dan Goossen is No Frills and he is all business.

After lavishing the media with sumptuous banquets at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas last year to promote David Tua (ironically, Tua was dieting and couldn’t enjoy anything but salad), the new Dan Goossen doesn’t offer the media even a cup of coffee during a two-hour interview.

That there is bad blood between him and former boss/buddy Mat Tinley is evident the minute you enter the outer offices of Goossen-Tutor. Framed magazine articles and photos of Goossen with every conceivable boxing celebrity show Tinley and Goossen arm in arm in better days.

Somebody, however, has painstakingly visited each picture of Tinley and covered his image with black marker pen. Even his name has been carefully scratched in the photo captions.

Ask Goossen and he feigns surprise at the defacement. Still, the gallery of pictures are fascinating. Brother Joe Goossen calls them the "Dan Goossen Memorial Shrine".

Goossen has been working overtime signing up fighters left and right. His flair for big fight shows is definitely bringing more than a touch of pizzazz to the local fight scene.

Already well versed on the political nature of things in California, Goossen insists on ambulances at every fight.

“That’s a no-brainer,” he said. “When you have been involved with a fight that has resulted in a fatality, like I did with Jimmy Garcia, you don't question the presence of a fully-equipped ambulance.”

Goossen said he understood the cost of an ambulance might be prohibitive to smaller promoters “But if it’s that big a problem for them, maybe they shouldn’t be promoting fights,” he said. “Even though it’s not the law yet [until 2003] we will have ambulances at every single one of our shows. Fighter safety should be paramount for all of us.”

An old magazine article in the lobby quotes Goossen as saying about the first gym he and his brothers opened in Van Nuys:

“There was a time when you’d see us on a bench in the gym, lifting our heads every time a car went by, hoping there was a boxer in it.”

You could say Dr. Dan has gone back to those days. So fervently has he been combing the divisions looking for good fighters, he has made some shrewd choices. You can’t help wondering which of them will join those pictures on the walls.

Pride of place in Goossen’s office is a photo of Goossen flanked by the remarkable Ruelas brothers, Gabriel and Rafael. To the left of that is a picture of Goossen and Muhammad Ali and to the right, a photo of his late father, police detective Elliott “Al” Goossen.

One look at Al, stern, upright and Irish proud in his uniform and you start to understand what motivates Goossen, a one-time office supplies salesman who has made his name in boxing.

“These are my heroes,” said Goossen of the men depicted.

Can Goossen make his new venture profitable? Probably. Gone are the days when he has splashed out a million bucks on potential big-name fighters.

His current stable is interesting to the boxing aficionado but nobody was exactly beating down their doors to sign these fighters.

Of the best-known, promotionally challenged fem fighter turned centerfold, Mia St. John, had been reduced to off-TV bouts while inked with Bob Arum. Then she got knocked out.

Long-in-the-tooth former two-time heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon is another of those tough, tenacious characters who proves Roy Rogers’ theory.

A much more interesting choice seems to be light heavyweight Jamaican Glen Johnson (he has dropped the “coffe” portion of his first name).

After two excellent wins over Toks Owoh and Thomas Ulrich in Europe, he was a find. At face value, Johnson’s record may seem iffy. With 38 wins, 7 losses and 27 KOs, his losses don’t look that bad when you discover they were big fights he took on short notice.

But will he turn into the sort of crowd-pleaser like the promoter’s cherished and adored Ruelas brothers? Goossen so loves his former fighter Rafael Ruelas, he had hoped to bring him into the family business.

"Family" is a big word for Goossen. He has not only 10 brothers and sisters but even his fighters are family.

With Rafael and Gabriel’s intentions to return to the ring, a disappointed Goossen who had worked with Rafael on a couple fights using him as payroll executive and bookkeeper, was hoping to make it a permanent situation.

“My brother Joe’s reasons for not wanting to see them fight again are one thing. As their promoter and friend I understand and support their decision,” he said. “I tried to talk to Rafael. I begged him to work with me and still train but I respect his decision to devote himself to his training.”

How bad did he want Rafael in the family business?With a funny look on his face, Goossen reached behind his desk to open a drawer and removed a box of business cards.

You identify the look then: it’s the look of a disappointed but still ever-hopeful father. The cards are beautifully printed and read: Rafael Ruelas: Media Relations.

There is even an office still designated for the fighter, should he ever wish to return to the fold.

“In this office, there is always a place for Rafael,” said Goossen. “I respect his decision to return to fighting. I was hoping he could do both, work with me and fight, but he has his heart set on his boxing.”

The pair will work together one last fight this Sunday at Soboba Casino in the desert town of San Jacinto.

Headlining the show is Goossen signee Jhonny Gonzalez.

“This is a great kid,” said Goossen. “And a tremendous fighter to watch. This is a rematch of his fight with [Ricardo] Chapo Vargas. I fully believe he will be vindicated.”

It’s certainly a fight for the fans.

Goossen also signed Mexico’s no. 1 lightweight/jr. welterweight, Jose Luis Juarez whom he is pitting against another new signee, Australian-based South African fighter Lovemore Ndou.

After calling every other promoter in the free world, Ndou, who is coming off a long period of inactivity, makes his US debut tomorrow for Goossen-Tutor
Ndou had a lot of heat on him a few years ago and was ranked as high as no. 2 by the World Boxing Council but the inactivity and the fact he won’t move to the US, has slowed his progress.

“Anybody can take a champion and put him into fights but for me, the excitement has always been developing a talent,” said Goossen.

Though Ndou, with his record of 30-3-1, 18 KOs, is somewhere in between a contender and a developing talent, how will he be affected in the hotter-than Hades San Jacinto battling jet lag, daylight saving and notorious spoiler Juarez?

He should win but last year Juarez made Vivian Harris look like a shot fighter in their 10-round matchup on the undercard of Tszyu vs Judah. Though Harris won a questionable split decision, Juarez is pumped and ready for the big fights.

African fighters notoriously do not do well in Palm Springs and its environs
Ndou himself is more concerned about the fight crowd.

“I hear it’s mostly all Mexican,” he said today. “Which means they’re going to be rooting for Juarez.”

Goossen acknowledged that he is virtually throwing Ndou in - let the chips fall where they may. He could have given “The Black Panther” an easier fight first time out - but this, let’s not forget, is the new Dan Goossen.

He’s giving Ndou - who spent close to a year trying to get out of a contract with Australian promoter Bill Mordey - a fighting chance.

“That’s all I can do,” Goossen said. “I can give the guy a chance and the rest is up to him.”

Johnson, the World Boxing Organization Intercontinental champ, next week faces another Goossen signee, Derrick Harmon on August 14 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

Harmon, who is the World Boxing Council Continental Americas champion, ran for most of his last fight against Detroit’s Demetrius Jenkins.

He’s in for a much tougher time with Johnson who made the previously unbeaten Toks Owoh look like a rank amateur when the two fought in London last year.

“I’ve been impressed with Glen for a long time now,” said Goossen. “His fight with Derrick will give us a barometer of where he is headed. This is a great, competitive match and if he beats Derrick, this could catapult him into a fight with Roy Jones.”

For Goossen it’s a win-win situation, since both guys fight for him. Goossen is also quick to sing the praised of Harmon, describing the fighter’s own shot at Jones as “one of the more competitive matches Jones has had.”

St. John, who is featured in an undercard bout Sunday, isn’t Goossen’s only female fighter. He as also snapped up El Paso lightweight Olga Vlasova who is 3-0, with 2 KOs. Vlasova, a popular new fighter on the Texas fight circuit joins another El Paso signee - lightweight, Adan Hernandez who is 9-0, 5 KOs.

Goossen is thrilled to be back in Los Angeles, where he and his army of family members were born and raised.

“I spent Easter Sunday with my matchmaker Tom Brown and his family,” said Goossen. “I spent two hours in the sun. I like it out here! There were only three families there and there were 24 of us. A family function with all my brothers and sisters and their off-spring would never happen. It would be impossible. There isn’t a location big enough.”

Goossen, meanwhile, worries about all his fighters, making sure they are comfortable whenever they fight for him.

“I don't just stick them in a motel room and let them fend for themselves,” he said. “I make sure they know they can drop by here any time and I make sure they know where all the local restaurants are.”

Although he is literally 10 minutes from his brother Joe’s gym, he never drops by to see how the fighters are faring in the gym.

“I’m not interested in looking at them in the gym,” he said. “I am interested in how they look in the fight. I was at the gym in the days when it was just a heavybag hanging from a tree in a parking lot in Van Nuys.

“They know I care about them but I have to make the fights happen. I am on the phone all day long.”

Son Craig Goossen who works with his father, stopped by Dan’s office
“My wife Debbie and I were out recently and I had to keep taking calls on my cell phone,” said Dan. “The people we were with, asked her if the phone is surgically attached to my ear.”

Despite his career ups and downs, there is an enviable buoyancy in Goossen.

You can’t help feeling that had he still been at the helm, former world champion Wayne McCullough would never have been stiffed on his $20,000 purse for hisJanuary 12 fight by America Presents. The check he was given, bounced and McCullough is still owed 12 grand.

With his love for his fighters, you feel certain that Goossen would have made sure the fighter got paid.

Goossen certainly seems focused on looking after the interests of his other fighers including heavies Chester Hughes and Boris Powell, welter Freddy Hernandez, middleweights Robert Allen, Kirino Garcia and and Julio Garcia, bantamweight prospect Daniel Ponce de Leon and junior fly Cesar Lopez, both of whom were members of Mexico’s 2000 Olympic team.

The promoter worries about the bigger picture of boxing too. He feels a personal disappointment in the individual state commissions “Washington and Tennessee for going against the brave decision of Nevada and approving Mike Tyson for a license. I think it’s terrible and weakens the sport as a whole.

“Marc Ratner [Nevada’s Executive Director] is a wonderful man and he has made some remarkable decisions for boxing. Tyson shouldn't be allowed to box. Some promises were made between Tyson and the state of Nevada and he broke them.”

What Goossen doesn’t say is that Tyson also screwed America Presents out of money - money that is still owed the company.

“I personally didn’t have a problem with Tyson and it was a great experience promoting four shows with him, but the man has some problems,” Goossen said.

“I never used to agree with the idea of a Federal commission but I am starting to think we do need a national commission,” he said. “I was very involved in the senate commission hearings with Senator John McClain for the Ali Act and I believe when he has time, Senator McClain will be focusing on that issue next.”

The look on his face said Cowboy Dan, like Roy Rogers who once rode his horse Trigger down the streetsof Hollywood Boulevard, will once again defy the odds and be right there with McClain on his white horse.