Coming Up in Boxing World : Goossen Makes a Move Reflecting Drive From Valley to Beverly Hills

Longtime Valley boxing promoter Dan Goossen now works from a small office in the posh home of Bob Arum, one of the most influential figures in the sport.

Goossen’s daily commute ends when he drives through a chrome and steel gate at the base of Arum’s steep driveway and parks near the twin black Jaguars in the carport. He approaches the front door by way of stepping stones set in the middle of a man-made pond, while Japanese carp swim languidly by his feet.

“This is what happens when you’re a boxing promoter,” Goossen says as he walks on polished granite floors and through Arum’s sunken living room. “Isn’t this nice?”

Ah, brave new world. For 13 years, Goossen, 44, presided over the Van Nuys-based Ten Goose Boxing Club--a company he started from scratch in 1982 and eventually built into an organization that promoted former world champions Michael Nunn and Terry Norris. He recently agreed to become executive vice president at Arum’s Top Rank Boxing.

The move signaled another Goossen step up the ladder of big-time boxing, one that affords greater resources, opportunities and all-important television exposure to his current fighters Rafael and Gabriel Ruelas of Sylmar. Rafael, International Boxing Federation lightweight champion, already has signed a contract with Top Rank and Gabriel is expected to follow suit. Both will still train at the Van Nuys gym run by Goossen’s brother Joe, 40.

Few or no TV cameras came to the cozy, 1,000-seat Reseda Country Club, where for 10 years Goossen promoted monthly fights, the only live bouts available to boxing fans in the Valley. Last spring, Goossen announced that the monthly shows would halt, though he promoted occasional fights there, including February’s card featuring Gabriel Ruelas and Goossen-managed heavyweight Lionel Butler, a top contender who has not signed with Top Rank.

Now, Goossen will promote bimonthly boxing for Top Rank at the recently renovated Grand Olympic Auditorium. Arum struck a deal with the owners of the 7,600-seat Olympic to promote at least 24 cards there, but has no time to do it himself.

“We didn’t have enough staff,” Arum said as he lay in bed recovering from recent Achilles’ tendon surgery. “Dan comes in and takes a real burden off us.”

The two men, who say they have been friendly rivals over the years--a 1989 dispute over $350,000 that Arum allegedly owed to Nunn caused Arum to dissolve his promotional agreement with Goossen-managed Nunn--reached an agreement in late February.

“Bob didn’t bring me in to be a yes man,” Goossen said. “He brought me in to do the same thing I’ve always been doing. The only that’s changed is that instead of ‘Ten Goose’ above my name, it will say ‘Top Rank’.

“But we will now have numerous TV dates at the Olympic Auditorium and at many European sites,” he said. “Bob Arum has an ESPN contract for 40 shows a year and a contract with Univision for 12 shows, as well as HBO and pay-per-view.

“There’s not another promoter in the world that has those capabilities, and that translates into increased exposure for the fighters. Dan Goossen hasn’t changed and my philosophy of dealing honestly hasn’t changed, but the opportunity I can deliver to fighters has changed--and changed for the better.”

Goossen fighters had been increasingly shut out of the television market dominated by Arum, Don King and Dan Duva, but that should change. Goossen and Arum said they plan a 1995 bout for Rafael Ruelas with Oscar De La Hoya, the World Boxing Organization junior-lightweight champion.

“I’m happier than hell,” Joe Goossen said. “I told Danny I wondered what took him so long to put something together with Bob.”

Joe Goossen said some associates viewed the move as a sad day for the Goossen brothers. Not so, he said.

“This is an upward move, not a downward move,” he said. “Danny now has access to a lot of things that have been closed to him. And I feel more secure than ever.”

His confidence is well-founded. Arum said he will steer many young, talented boxers looking for a trainer and eager to join the Top Rank stable to Joe Goossen.

“On a daily basis we have people calling us to manage their fighters,” Arum said. “But we don’t manage fighters, we suggest trainers. Now, one of the names we’ll be advancing is Joe Goossen.

“Let’s face it, these kids aren’t dumb,” Arum said. “They understand the relationship and they’re going to run to Joe, because he’s connected by blood, if nothing else, to Top Rank.”

Joe Goossen’s connection to Dan has not changed, though Dan’s status as employer has changed to employee . He was asked if the loss of autonomy bothered him.

“Even when you run your own company, you have to listen to other people,” he said. “It’s not like you rule with an iron fist. When I negotiated with TV companies, I didn’t tell them what to do. And I sure don’t tell my brother what to do--if anything, it’s the opposite. Now I’ve got to work with Bob, and the way to make it work is to letting me be myself.”

A born salesman who graduated from Notre Dame High, Dan spent more than a decade peddling clothing and office supplies before quitting to found Ten Goose with the help of his nine siblings. For a family whose brothers spent many evenings in the family’s living room learning to box, the undertaking proved a perfect fit.

A perfect fit is how the Goossens and Arum describe their new partnership. Dan and Joe sounded giddy at times Friday listing the benefits of the arrangement. Joe laughed and joked over the phone from the gym, and Dan chortled when asked about the plush surroundings of Arum’s home, with its 20-foot ceilings and a tennis court.

“If this was my house, I’d be retired,” Dan said.

The opulence was emblematic of the brighter future he hopes awaits him and his brother. Said Joe: “The door has swung wide-open for the Goossen brothers.”