“Sergio took a lot of shots from Paul and I hope that it doesn’t have any lingering effects going into this fight. Not that I want him to beat Pavlik, you know, but Paul has the tendency to ruin careers after they fight him?Paul Williams is that rare bread, as you mentioned earlier, that from welterweight, super welterweight and middleweight, he is ready for any challenge. As fights progress, he is getting bigger and better and by the end of this year, Paul will be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world,” stated promoter Dan Goossen as he talked about Paul Williams and his upcoming showdown with Kermit Cintron. Check out what else he had to say as Goossen shares his thoughts on James Toney, Chris Arreola, Tony Thompson, Edison Miranda and much more.
JRAM: Dan, how are you?
DG: Good! Good!
JRAM: Congrats on Paul finally securing a fight. That being said, I was really hoping we would be seeing Paul instead of Sergio fighting Kelly on Saturday. I thought surely after all the comments from Arum and Kelly, this was gonna happen. Dan, clear the air. Why didn’t it happen?
DG: You know, they talk a lot, but don’t really come to the plate. What we were willing to do last year, we weren’t willing to do this year and things change. Kelly had his opportunity to fight Paul on two separate occasions and we were willing to move forward under terms and conditions that we had. Things fell off on Kelly’s end and we went along and fought Martinez. So Paul is the champion and anyone who wants to dispute it can put up any argument they want to, but the fighter makes the belt and not the other way around. At this point, Paul is as big as Kelly, if not bigger, and we have done the fair thing and we will go 50/50 and we will find out in the ring who has the better fighter. That’s something that they don’t want to do, so now they will go and fight guys we have already beaten.
JRAM: What are your thoughts on Sergio and Kelly fighting and how do you see that fight playing out?
DG: What I am concerned about is that Sergio took a lot of shots from Paul and I hope that it doesn’t have any lingering effects going into this fight. Not that I want him to beat Pavlik, you know, but Paul has the tendency to ruin careers after they fight him.
JRAM: Are you looking to get Paul in with the winner?
DG: The Pavlik fight can be made 1-2-3, but if they are going to persist on outdated terms, that’s going to be up to them. But it’s very simple to be made on our end.
JRAM: What are your thoughts on the fight against cintron?
DG: We have a very formidable challenger in Cintron and plus, people forget to realize that Paul is a 147-pound fighter and we were ready to fight him at 47 back in May.
JAM: Wow! At 47? It’s amazing the range Paul has as far as his weight and how he is willing to fight anyone from welterweight to middleweight at any given time. Moving on to another subject, I have been wondering where these fighters are coming from that are suddenly ranked and getting shots at the Kitschkos. Why hasn’t James Toney had the chance to get in there with those boys?
DG: Good question. You can’t complain about Chambers or Thompson because they worked there way up to become a mandatory, but for the most part, they have taken the path of least resistance. Frankly, I thought I had a deal that was going to get James and Vitali to fight, but they opted to take Sosnowski. On one hand, I understand. I mean, if they can go and sell 50 thousand tickets and fool the public in Germany that Sosnowski presents a challenge, then more power to them. But it’s not the way heavyweight champions work in the United States of America. They look for the biggest and best challenge to put their stamp alongside there championship belt.
JRAM: James has been calling out everyone and anyone in the heavyweight division and can’t seem to get an opponent. What’s been the hold up on getting him in the ring?
DG: We can make matches and get him opponents, but there are 2 factors that come into play and one of them is limited amount of network availability. That availability hasn’t been there for heavyweights. As you can see, the Klitschkos are dominating forces and they are fighting and it’s not getting played here in the US. Conditions on the heavyweight division and premium network dictate what fights are made. Could there be other avenues for James? Of course! He has been a legend and is he is certainly looking to make some respectable money, if not great, but there’s not too much out there. James certainly deserves one more shot to prove he is the best, but unfortunately, there isn’t that riveting opponent that the public is demanding to where the public puts down 50 dollars for.
JRAM: Well, I have to agree with you and I hope James can get back in the ring soon and I look forward to seeing him again because he is a legend and frankly, I believe he has the edge needed to overcome the Klitschkos.
DG: For some reason, they are reluctant with James. James holds a special place in my life and it will be intertwined with my life until they put me 6 feet under. He is a special man and one that I would love to get him that one last opportunity and I’m constantly working on it.
JRAM: Dan, I appreciate you taking some time out of your schedule to contact and share your thoughts with me, FightHype and all the fans. Can you give us some closing thoughts on your plans in the future.
DG: We got Tony Thompson fighting Owen Beck Friday night on ESPN. Tony’s a reversal of a standard in our sport, which is he has gotten younger with age. So he has a young mans mind in a 38-year-old body. I think he still has a lot to give in the heavyweight division and Tony has grown a lot since his loss to Wladimir. Then we have Edison Miranda. Joe Goossen is known for reshaping a boxer’s career and this could certainly be Edison’s time to come out there and show the world he is a more complete fighter than he was a year or two years ago. And if he does what I think he is capable of, he is going to be a mean son of a bitch in that ring (laughing). And of course, Arreola and Tomasz [Adamek] is coming up and I just think that Chris will be too quick, too strong, and too active for Tomasz to deal with and handle. And later, we have Paul and Cintron, as we discussed. Paul Williams is that rare bread, as you mentioned earlier, that from welterweight, super welterweight and middleweight, he is ready for any challenge. As fights progress, he is getting bigger and better and by the end of this year, Paul will be considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
