Goossen Wins With Right Hand Tied Behind His Back

P.J. Goossen remained unbeaten, but his reputation might have suffered a bit in the eyes of fans who watched him win a unanimous decision over overmatched Eric McNair Wednesday night at the Warner Center Marriott.

Then again, the vast majority of them never saw him afterward, with his gloves off.

Goossen’s right hand, which has troubled him throughout his career, was swollen dramatically around the middle knuckle.

It was injured in the first round, on the first punch he connected with. From then on, Goossen compared his performance with that of a runner trying to finish a marathon on one leg.

“I felt the pain, but I kept on throwing it,” said Goossen (16-0) and retained his State middleweight title by a score of 79-73 on all four judges’ cards.

“I’m disappointed I couldn’t throw my right hand with all the force I needed to. I couldn’t do all of the things I wanted to do.”

Against McNair, what he did have was enough.

McNair, a former national Golden Gloves champion, is 6-11-1 as a professional, and against Goossen he rarely mounted enough of a challenge to keep the champion’s attention.

Goossen’s performance, though not impressive, was a saving grace for the contingent of boxers fighting near home.

In earlier bouts, Don Goodwin of Canoga Park and Jim Mullen of Simi Valley were knocked out.

Goodwin (5-5) was stopped after 2 minutes 16 seconds of the first round by Floyd Weaver, who, shortly after the opening bell, appeared to be in trouble himself.

A left-right combination by Goodwin sent Weaver (9-2) bouncing off the ropes early on. Goodwin hurt the brother of former heavyweight champion Mike Weaver again with a left a short time later.

Then lightning struck. Weaver took out Goodwin with a flurry so quick that Goodwin--and several ringside observers--weren’t sure what hit him.

Mullen’s fall came 1:22 into the fifth round when Sergio Guerrero (3-5) struck with a short right. Mullen (7-4-1) straightened up, appeared to right himself, then tipped over like a felled tree.

The only other local fighter to emerge victorious was Carlos Guzman (6-3-3) of Northridge, who stopped Richard Calvillo (1-4-1) at 1:36 of the third round in their lightweight bout.