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RIP Goofi
15 Rounds by Steve Kim (August 7, 2002)

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It was just a year and a half-ago that heavyweight Lance Whitaker was among the fastest rising fighters in his division. Whitaker, a 6-foot-7, 250-pound giant, was a project who was moved slowly by his trainer Joe Goossen and his promotional company America Presents, which was at that time run by Joe's brother, Dan.

After back-to-back knockout wins over Robert Davis and Oleg Maskaev, Whitaker had served notice that he was a heavyweight to be taken seriously. Then, Whitaker went goofy, well, actually 'Goofi' that is. As he would proceed to dump the Goossen brothers and hook up with Rock Newman, who was away from the game for several years after leading Riddick Bowe in the '90s to heavyweight prominence.

'Mt Whitaker' was no more; he was now 'Goofi'. As Newman would embark on one of the worst marketing campaigns ever launched in boxing - and that's saying something. Armed with a new trainer, Phil Borgia, Whitaker would walk into the ring against Jameel McCline with a parade of young kids holding 'Goofi' placards. It was almost as stupid as it was forgettable. Just on principle alone, Whitaker should have been declared the loser right then and there. He would walk out of the ring with a 12-round loss to McCline and his downward spiral would hit rock-bottom in a ten-round draw to late replacement Ray Austin in April - a fight many thought he lost.

The Whitaker-Newman duo was boxing's version of the AOL-Time Warner merger and Whitaker's stock which was once so high, plunged badly.

Whitaker found out the hard way that, indeed, the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. He is now back in Van Nuys, California, training under the watchful eye of Goossen for the past month and he's back to being 'Mt. Whitaker', 'Goofi' is no more.

"Goofi? Who you talking about," said Whitaker laughing. "It's Mt. Whitaker. Mt Whitaker's back with the Goossens. Mt. Whitaker's back. I was on medication back then."

Whitaker admits that he is directly to blame for his recent career path.

"This was a classic case of what not to do," he said.

Whitaker explained to MaxBoxing the process that got him back together with Goossen.

"It kinda happened out of nowhere," said Goossen. "I just basically got a call from Lance and we hooked up, he came over to my house, we went out and had lunch and talked about where we wanted to go, what we wanted to do, shook each other's hand and we've been working ever since."

Despite the acrimonious split, Goossen had always made it clear that he hadn't ruled out a reunion with his old heavyweight. At all costs, Goossen would avoid saying anything too critical about his then-former fighter.

"There was never any reason to say anything negative because what's done is done," explained the veteran trainer. "I always kept it positive because those things happen sometimes and sometimes they're remedied rather quickly like this one was and so I guess being around for awhile you know that and that's what I was counting on."

In other words, it's boxing, and in boxing, 'you never, say never'. Friends today, can become enemies tommorow. And then a week down the line, work together side-by-side. That's the way the boxing business works.

During his three fight tenure with Newman (where he would go 1-1-1) Whitaker would have two trainers, Borgia and then Thell Torrance. Whitaker knew early on that he had made a mistake.

"During the training, before the losses with different trainers, it just wasn't the same," said Whitaker. He found that like many other fighter-trainer combos, sometimes there is a special bond that can't replicated with someone else in the corner.

"Oh yes, no doubt," concurred Whitaker, "he is definitely the trainer for me and one of the best trainers in the world. Just the chemistry is good and I respect him. If he tells me to jump off a cliff, I'd jump off a cliff. When he tells me to do something - I do it. My mom always says, 'He's like a father to you' and I just respect him, I just respect everything he says. I believe everything he says."

And if you don't respect your trainer, the flip side is that it's hard to go to war for the man.

"Most definitely," agreed Whitaker, "if you don't respect your trainer it's hard to fight."

Whitaker who weighed in at a rotund 282-pounds for his bout with Austin, is already down around the 250s. His daily training regimen includes a morning hike up the steep hills of the San Fernando Valley with local firefighters he has befriended, an afternoon session at Goossen's gym working on his boxing, and then weight training at night. Goossen doesn't think he has to start from scratch with his fighter.

"The last two fights with me, Lance was being called by HBO - George Foreman in particular - a guy that could be heavyweight champion today and that was the last time we went into the ring together. So I really think that I don't have to start all over again because it's a past memory, the little time we were apart. If anything, he's performing above the standard from last time."

Goossen mentions that Whitaker could be back in action by October and he says that we'll be seeing a very hungry and focused fighter.

"The thing about Lance is that he's highly, highly motivated," points out Goossen, "which is critical, it's really critical with any fighter but it's almost like, 'I'm wringing my hands, licking my chops right now' not because of me and what I can do for Lance but the fact that we're together again.

"My motivation factor is very high to pick up where we left off and really add some new things and Lance has got the same feeling. We're both on the same wave-length there, where he wants to avenge the losses, not necessarily with those guys in particular, but that's fine as well. But he wants to avenge those losses in a meaningful way by dispatching anybody we fight in a very malicious way. He really wants to destroy people right now, he feels he's got to clear his name."

Whitaker admits he feels as though he has to make amends for the past year: "I really have something to prove but everyone knows when I'm back with Joe Goossen, they know Mt. Whitaker's back and we're going to start off where we left - just crushing people."

He knows he 'goofed' but he's just glad to be where he feels he belongs.

"It's good to be back," Whitaker said. "Good to be back with Joe, people like Elan (Haim), it's just good to be back."

REUNION

Also spotted at Goossen's gym was heavyweight Jeremy Williams, who is now working with Johnny Brey.

Williams, who has been racking up some victories on the 'Sunday Night Fights' series on Fox Sports Net, says that he is scheduled to go again on that series on September 9th.

YOU SILLY-MAN

I've been reading on various web-sites Jose Sulaiman's reasoning as to why he is suing seemingly everyone in boxing over some of the injuries he suffered in the January fracas in New York involving Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis.

Cry me river - not.

Hey Jose, it's kinda ironic that you help put this promotion together as it was your sanctioning body that was so quick to give Tyson his undeserved number-one ranking. You could say these injuries are self-inflicted.

CHICKIE BABY

Chick Hearn, who passed away Monday night, was best known for his stellar work with the Los Angeles Lakers, but he also did some boxing throughout the years as he was the voice on more than a few shows at the Great Western Forum when Forum Boxing was up and running.

Hearn is truly one of the all-time great broadcasters and he will be missed.

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