Promoter Dan Goossen wants an orthodox rival for Paul Williams

During a recent Q&A with RingTV.com, promoter Dan Goossen had some interesting things to say regarding what is next for three-time beltholder Paul Williams and heavyweight contenders Chris Arreola, Tony Thompson and Eddie Chambers.

Acknowledging that Williams (40-2, 27 knockouts) has faced adversity against fellow southpaws -- a dominant decision over former beltholder Winky Wright notwithstanding -- Goossen said that he is targeting Williams for a November or December bout against a quality right hander.

Williams has split match ups with left handers Carlos Quintana and Sergio Martinez, knocking out Quintana in their welterweight rematch, but being stopped in second round of a middleweight return fight with Martinez.

In addition, Williams is coming off of last month's disputed majority decision win over southpaw Erislandy Lara, a fight that most ringside media believed Lara won.

Goossen also unveiled that Thompson (36-2, 24 knockouts) and Chambers (36-2, 18 KOs) will meet in an IBF title eliminator bout for the right to avenge their respective stoppage losses against titleholder Wladimir Klitschko.

Thompson-Chambers is likely to happen on the under card of the Showtime-televised main event featuring WBA beltholder Andre Ward and WBC counter part Carl Froch in the finals of the network's Super Six Super Middleweight Classic in Atlantic City, N.J., on Oct. 29.

Arreola (33-2, 28 KOs), meanwhile, is coming off of last month's unanimous decision over Friday Ahunanya, which was his fifth straight victory during a run that has included three knockouts.

Arreola's losses have come against WBC beltholder Vitali Klitschko and contender Tomasz Adamek, respectively, by 10th-round stoppage in September of 2009, and majority decision in February of 2010.

Arreola tipped the scales at 251, and, 250 pounds, respectively, against Vitali Klitschko and Adamek. But thanks to a more focused and rigorous training regimen, Arreola weighed just 236 against Ahunanya.

With Adamek challenging Vitali Klitschko on Sept. 10, Manny Steward, the trainer of Wladimir Klitschko, wants to match Arreola against his man.

Below are Gossen's thoughts on all of the above.

RingTV.com: What's your take on Steward wanting Arreola for Wladimir Klitschko in the fall?

Dan Goossen: I haven't had any concrete discussions as it relates to that fight. I obviously think that it's a fight that we would be interested in. On the other hand, I've made it clear that we are going to keep on concentrating on Chris's career and his improvement.

And as you can see, with his weight and his activity level, he's doing the same thing. We're looking to put our attention, our concentration and promotional efforts into continuing to improve Chris's profile as a fighter.

RingTV.com: So what's next for Arreola?

DG: Chris is going to fight on Sept. 15 out here in California. The opponent is still being discussed. There are no names yet. But other than fighting for the heavyweight championship, we're going to go after whichever fighters are available to fight on the level of these types of promotions.

RingTV.com: Given the pace that Arreola is on, and the potential demand by the public, how long can you hold off on another title shot, this time, against Wladimir Klitschko?

DG:  If there's one thing that Chris has proven throughout the years, even when he wasn't as dedicated to his training, is that he will fight anyone. So we're not going to resist any type of opportunity from a business standpoint.

But with the mindset that Chris has today, there is a big difference with his dedication in the gym. Because his mindset has only gotten stronger that he wants to fight anyone. But from our perspective, he will soon be fighting for the title sometime in 2012.

That's whether it's Wladimir or whether it's somebody else out there who may have the title at that time. So there's no one that Chris wouldn't fight.

RingTV.com: What's next for Williams?

DG: We just had some conversations about that this morning. We'd certainly like to get something concrete before the end of the year, perhaps in November or December. These were conversations that we were having simply within our own camp.

As I said, today was the first conversation regarding Paul's next date that we were targeting. So we've got many more discussions left to move forward with before we start talking about opponents.

RingTV.com: Any thoughts on whether Williams will return as a welterweight, a junior middleweight or a middleweight in his next fight?

DG: As you've known throughout the years, and it hasn't changed, it's that Paul is willing to fight from 147 to 160. I keep on saying, however, that I certainly like him at the 147 pound division. But, you know, there hasn't been enough fights there to be able to do that.

RingTV.com: As good as Williams is, and with as many tough, non-title fights as he has had, is it never about the title belts with Williams as much as about the opponent and the substance of the match up?

DG: It's always good to be in a title fight, but again, I think that what's important here is realizing that Paul has been in a lot of fights. One thing that I must admit, and for the most part, it's with every fighter that we have in our stable, is that they're willing to fight anyone.

Andre Ward is no different, nor is Chris Arreola. As you see with what we do is that we put them in there with everyone. So, as it relates to Paul, he's fought everyone that has been placed in front of him, quite frankly.
So Paul has earned his stripes to be considered one of the toughest fighters out there today.

That's one of the two things that I've been saying consistently throughout the years. And another thing that is going to become more consistently said by me, moving forward, is that I want to get Paul Williams into the ring with a right hander.

RingTV.com: What's is at stake for Thompson and Chambers?

DG: I've talked to both fighters. Tony has signed his contract, and I spoke to Eddie yesterday, and he will be getting his contract back to us this weekend. We're going to try to get that fight on television. But the fans and the networks, they're looking for fighters who are more offensive-minded.

And, I've always said to our fighters and stressed upon our fighters, heavyweights on down, that a good offensive attack is a good defensive tactic.

Because when you're throwing punches, normally, your opponent has less time to do anything other than to avoid those punches. And what happens when you have that mindset is that you're an exciting fighter.

Also, the heavyweight division is in need of a major jolt, and I just believe that Thompson and Chambers have both come to the realization that no matter what weight division it is, our sport is changed inside of the ring.

So that leads us back to what the fans want to see, what the promoters want to see, and what's better for your career. So that's what Thompson and Chambers are there to provide.