Talking Boxing with PROMOTER DAN GOOSSEN
"we will reach levels that Mike Tyson did and beyond providing James keeps on winning"
by
Coyote Duran
3/15 - I'm sure you've probably noticed from my pattern of interviews lately that I've been chatting it up quite a bit with fighters under the
Goossen-Tutor banner. Tough job, I'm sure you're thinking, huh?
After a bit 'o thought, I figured, "Why not talk to the man behind the men?" After all hasn't Dan Goossen made unique strides in dong what he does best: Promoting? Well,......yeah. Think about it: On August 9, 2004, Goossen-Tutor Promotions teamed with FoxSportsNet's Best Damn Sports Show Period! and made history with the returning James Toney battling then-undefeated Rydell Booker to a landslide unanimous decision, while raking in unprecedented numbers for the popular ensemble sports show. With a promotional deal cemented firmly in place, Goossen-Tutor and FoxSportsNet cranked out two more great prime-time shows for some really appreciative fight freaks.
I caught Dan during a rare breather and he filled me in on a teeny bit of Goossen family close-knittedness (Dude, is that even a word?!), how he felt about how well the arrangement went with FoxSportsNet, the future of young lion/Olympian Andre Ward and he even shared some very frank (and quite lovely) thoughts about James Toney.
It's all yours, Howlers! Read on......
DAN GOOSSEN
Coyote Duran: Let’s start a little from the beginning, Dan. Goossen-Tutor’s only been a promotional company for what, less than 3 years now?
Dan Goossen: Right.
Coyote Duran: When you left America Presents, it was pretty much a sinking ship. Did you always have a plan for this promotional venture someday as a next step in growth for what was The Ten Goose Boxing Club at the time?
Dan Goossen: No, I didn't and I didn't really feel America Presents was a sinking ship at the time. We were certainly losing some of the big fights but a good name was established. A good reputation was established. Big fights were established so, you know, I felt it still had a tremendous opportunity for growth. All it needed were a few victories but unfortunately things didn't work out that way and it presented me with creating a new company.
Coyote Duran: Goossen-Tutor is very much a family affair and you’ve got a pretty big family, Dan. Who plays what day-to-day roles in the company?
Dan Goossen: It the old days, it was a list that I barely remembered with all the family members! As the years have gone by and different opportunities have come up with a lot of the family members, it's not at the same type of level. We've expanded into what I'd call a major company with some family members in it. My son, Craig. Tom Brown, my brother-in-law. Obviously, Joe (Goossen, renowned trainer and Dan's brother.......Duh.)'s got his own company but whenever we can work together makes for a good time. You know, for the most part, Tom, Craig and myself are the foundation of the business.
Coyote Duran: Dan, when Goossen-Tutor first got involved with the FoxSportsNet's Best Damn Sports Show Period!, were you confident, from the get-go, this marriage would work out or did it feel like an incredible risk at first?
"I've never really let confidence be my guiding light"
Dan Goossen: You're always confident but you need more than confidence. We've seen it with fighters that say they're gonna go out there and put a beating on someone and get the victory. Not only do they not put a beating on anyone but worse yet, they don't get the victory. So there's all different types of confidence. I've never really let confidence be my guiding light. I believe in my abilities but I'm also a realist as to what actual facts are. So did I feel that we could be successful? I've always felt that way. But you've gotta go out there and do it and our business, unlike so many others, is really dependent on a good "teamworking" relationship because no matter how great I might be as a promoter, you still need the fighter to win to have your confidence come to reality. So, we're no different than a baseball or basketball coach or an owner of those teams that go out there and ply their trade. They're great coaches but if you send that runner home and he gets tagged out in the last game of the World Series with the game on the line, you may be fired. Or you may be considered someone who made a mistake. The difference between winning and losing is very, very often, through the years, a very thin line. All for success and failure.
Coyote Duran: How surprised were you when the numbers for the Toney-Booker came back and revealed that it was, indeed, the Best Damn Sports Show's highest rated broadcast in their history at that time?
Dan Goossen: I wasn't really surprised 'cause we had faith in James' popularity. A lot of people had written him off because he was in that sort of "Twilight Zone" period where he was still winning. He was still fighting but he wasn't the James Toney that we all have come to know and love. What he could normally do in 2 or 3 rounds was taking him 7 or 8 rounds. He had the desire and everything but just not the focus and the dedication to really become what he's become the last few years. He's got that hunger and when you give James Toney, a man of his talents, that hunger, everything else will fall into place including that the fans realize that James Toney is someone to be reckoned with. Based upon that, his popularity.....he's been around many years and his popularity is gonna be a slamdunk. I noticed it on the (Evander) Holyfield-Toney (Showtime) pay-per-view event. No titles on the line. Ten round fight. Holyfield was considered at the latter part of his career. James wasn't even back into the public's conciousness and we still did 150,000 pay-per-view buys which is what the champions did back (on Don King's heavyweight pay-per-view) in November and what (The Ring Magazine World Heavyweight Champion) Vitali Klitschko did back in December. So my feeling is, once James goes out there and wins this (WBA) heavyweight championship, his pay-per-view numbers, I feel, we will reach levels that Mike Tyson did and beyond providing James keeps on winning
Coyote Duran: Damn. That is good faith! Explain to us how the last purse bid process went. Did this go well?
Dan Goossen: The WBA postponed the first bid to March 18 and in the interim, Don King and myself have had numerous conversations and are very close to putting all the pieces together.
Coyote Duran: You also showed very good faith in signing Wayne McCullough and as a result, I think he showed one of the gutsiest performances in his career against (WBC Super Bantamweight titlist) Oscar Larios. How would you assess his performance, Dan?
Dan Goossen: I did Wayne's first professional fight. Back in those days, Wayne showed the determination and the will power that you need in great fighters back in the early stages of his career. I wasn't surprised but what I was surprised at was that Larios was able to take that pressure for 12 rounds! Wayne, you know what you're gonna get with him. Fans loved him from pillar to post because he gives you everything he's got and you saw Larios give the same thing. It was a great fight and one that we'd like to see the rematch on and I think the one who's gonna come out better, mentally, out of this is gonna be Wayne because there's no more question marks to him. He knows what he's gonna do. He knows he can do it and I think he'll be the better fighter for it and he can take any of the 122 pounders. We're certainly gonna go out there. Remember: Larios is considered the best 122 pounder and the scores were not reflective at all of what I thought the fight portrayed inside the ring. I mean, there could be an argument that there was a close victory for Wayne or certainly a draw or a few points loss for Wayne. The scores that reflected the toe-to-toe exchanges throughout all the 12 rounds, I felt, were way off-base.
"In today's world, I think you find new ways of having success for everyone"
Coyote Duran: Another gentleman we saw on the last Best Damn broadcast, Andre Ward is affiliated with both Goossen-Tutor and Roy Jones’ Square Ring Promotions. How does such an agreement work and do you communicate with Roy regarding details about Andre's career?
Dan Goossen: It's kind of a foreign territory for both Roy's company and ours. Usually, companies like ourselves, we're pretty much independent. In today's world, I think you find new ways of having success for everyone. In Andre's case, with Roy's background, not only in the Olympics but in boxing, with our experience in promoting, I think it just turned out to be a tremendous relationship with (Ward's manager) James Prince and Andre Ward and Roy's Square Ring and our Goossen-Tutor. But I did say it was foreign territory. Sometimes somethings, you know, you've gotta remind yourself that you've got a partner and don't act alone. So far, so good. Brad Jacobs and Linda Paget are carrying the day-to-day operations for Roy and it just takes a little bit moire time for a good communication line. Otherwise, it's been going great.
Coyote Duran: What can we look forward to regarding the pacing of Ward’s career throughout the year?
Dan Goossen: We're just gonna keep him busy. Keep him out there fighting fights that we hope are competitive from the standpoint that Andre learns every day, every event. What he learned from this last fight he took back to the gym and I'm sure we're gonna see it when he fights April 7. The key is to make sure that when everything's said and done, by the time we get to the big time, Andre has faced every type of fighter. Lefty, righty, puncher, boxer, runner, uppercutter, overhand.....you know, whatever style there is (Chuckles)! We just wanna get him reaady for the big time so he's prepared for everything.
Coyote Duran: If I'm not mistaken, you’ve attended Senate hearings in the past regarding boxing reform.
Dan Goossen: Right.
Coyote Duran: To my recollection, I’m not familiar with any other promoters placing that idea high on their lists of relevant boxing issues.
Dan Goossen: No, there hasn't been any other major promoters to my knowledge. I know Pat English, as an (Main Events)attorney, has attended but as far as I'm concerned, carrying the flag for boxing would be somewhat selfish and for me to go out there and say that I'm gonna go out there and make sure the business is clean......I've got no control over that. All I've got control over is our company and from that standpoint, I said something 20-some-odd years ago when I got into the business: I wasn't here to change the industry. I just wanted to make sure that the industry didn't change me.
Coyote Duran: And at least you know that, in your corner of the world, things are going to stay honest.
"you've gotta make sure that you keep a clean nest undertneath your own home"
Dan Goossen: Exactly. Because I don't care what faction of business that you look at. You pick up the business section in any newspaper around the country, or for that matter, around the world, and there are accusations and criminal cases against some of the most well-known companies out there. A lot of the industries in this world have corruption in them. You know, you've gotta make sure that you keep a clean nest undertneath your own home. I'm not out to represent anyone other than our business as it relates to the industry. We hope that other people who say that they wanna do that (fight for boxing reform) do continue to do that without any controversy.
Coyote Duran: James Toney refers to you as "Papa Goose", Dan. Do you feel like a proud father when you sit back and look at what fighters like Toney, Glen Johnson and (IBF Junior Lightweight titlist) Robbie Peden, among many others, are doing for their banner?
Dan Goossen: You know, it's funny. When James says that, I really don't say anything one way or the other. The first time that he said it, I......it kinda hits home because you realize that you're getting a little bit older where you could be a "Papa"! (Coyote laughs) Craig is 35 years old so I'm not too far removed from James being as old as my son. But on the other hand, James is an affectionate fighter toward his confidants and certainly in our case, we've had a great relationship. Like any other relationship, there's been bumps and bruises here and there but like any strong relationship, you overcome those obstacles. With James, I do feel proud. I've told him that many, many times. Even under the darkest of circumstances because when everything's said and done, he's virtually done everything I've asked him to do. All I wanna do is see great success for him.
Coyote Duran: I'm certain he appreciates that as well. Thank you for your time, Dan. It's been great talking to you!
Dan Goossen: Not a problem!
Talking Boxing would like to thank Dan Goossen for sharing some time during what very well looks like his busiest year yet. As always, major Coyote-style thanks to Rachel Charles for without her, this discussion wouldn't be possible.
Coyote Duran can be reached at coyoteduran@talkingboxing.com.
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