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 Two Steps Forward, One Step Backward for Goossen
By Steve Kim (September 28, 2004)
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After being the bridesmaid for so long in big fights, Dan Goossen broke through in a big way this past weekend when Glen Johnson permanently shattered the legend of Roy Jones Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee,
Yes, Dan Goossen was the victor in a big fight.
It was like seeing Gene Mauch winning a World Series, Bud Grant or Marv Levy lifting the Lombardi Trophy or Ray Meyer cutting down the nets at the Final Four. What's next, the Cubs or Red Sox winning the Fall Classic?
It was a quite a week for Goossen, whose company went two-for-two, as James Toney would make his return to the ring with a lopsided 12-round decision over Rydell Booker to earn the top ranking in the WBC.
But alas, Toney suffered a torn bicep in his left arm and is now out of action for at least three months.
"He'll have surgery tomorrow morning at 7 AM; doctor Tony Daly is performing it, and it'll be about an hour-and-a-half," explained Goossen on Tuesday afternoon. "It'll be about one month with a cast on, one month of rehab and then one month of strengthening it."
This comes on the heels of his nine month sabbatical from the ring due to a torn Achilles that scrapped his February date with Jameel McCline. To Goossen, it's no coincidence that both of these injuries have come as Toney has hit the weight room.
"James and I have had monthly discussions prior to the first injury with the Achilles, and now since this injury, and long talks with Dr. Daly, and you always try to look for a way to prevent any type of injury," says Goossen. "Especially ones that have coincided with his weight training and I just think it's something that James has never done."
While his body did look muscular for the Booker fight, pumping all that iron seemed to be a case of form over function.
"I thought his body looked beautiful with Holyfield and although it looked good that night, it doesn't do any good if he gets injured because of different training routines."
According to the veteran promoter, his training routine will be adjusted to not have any weight training included.
"We've come to an understanding that it's the only thing we're going to cut out of his training going forward because it's the only explanation to what's causing these injuries," Goossen stated. "Because he has not been injury prone through the years and it's not because he's 36 years old."
There were no buzzkills when Johnson knocked out Jones two nights later.
"After you beat a Hall-of-Famer like Roy Jones it's really a proud moment," said Goossen, who reflected on the reclamation project he undertook a few years ago. "I don't want to sound corny, but I remember when we got back together with Glen and put him in with Eric Harding over at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe on Fox Sports Net, making $15,000. I mean in that short period of time, I'm real proud of what he's accomplished.
"He's had two fights with Clinton Woods for the championship - I felt he won both of them - then he had to overcome the postponements with Joe Calzaghe, one of them a week before the fight, actually the day he was leaving to go to England. It seemed like he had one stream of bad luck after another.
"But here he comes out and beats Roy Jones in devastating fashion and it was just a dominating performance and people know who Glen is."
Finally, Charlie Brown had kicked the football with Lucy holding, and Goossen had come up big in unexpected fashion.
"I sat ringside and I must admit it was a feeling that didn't sink in until the next day," recalled Goossen. "Beating Roy Jones is beating one of the all-time greats, so it really kind of sunk in on the plane when I flew back with Manny Steward, Larry Merchant and Jim Lampley, and we were talking about it and that's when it kinda sunk in that it was just a masterful performance.
"Because when you're sitting there ringside and you're involved in the fight, you're at such a stage where you're just so focused, you don't really see what's happening in front of you to the extent that the viewer at home does. You're just kinda waiting for that result to come."
Goossen is quick to spread the credit for the role he played in Johnson's revival.
"The guy that has been the forgotten man is his trainer, Orlando Cuellar," he says. "I mean really, he's kind of come out of nowhere but he's given Glen that renewed confidence inside the ring and Henry Foster can't be dismissed, either" adds Goossen, speaking of Johnson's manager. "Henry has been 24-7 on top of Glen to make sure everything is right. He's a throwback to the old-time manager. So those two guys have to be recognized also."
So what's next for boxing's road warrior? A fight with fellow Jones conqueror Antonio Tarver seems like a natural but Gary Shaw is quick to remind everyone and anyone that his fighter, Rico Hoye, is the mandatory challenger for the IBF title.
"We're going to abide by all the rules of the IBF," he says, "but on the other hand we're exploring all his opportunities right now. And one of them obviously is Tarver, another is Calzaghe and I've also had talks with Bob Arum about Bernard Hopkins."
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