By Jake Donovan

Preparation for Chris Arreola’s next fight will come with a slight change of scenery.

The veteran heavyweight contender is now working with noted trainer Joe Goossen ahead of his next ring adventure, which is tentatively slated to take place later this year.

Such a pairing was actually teased during the April 20 edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Fox, as Goossen—who serves as an expert ringside analyst on the series—was referenced as Arreola’s current trainer in a graphic indicating his career credentials.

It turned out the tidbit served as a news item and not a production gaffe, as the switch was confirmed by Arreola’s longtime head trainer.

“Just some news I'm passing along will not be working with Chris for his next fight,” Henry Ramirez revealed through social media on Wednesday. The Riverside (Calif.)-based trainer has guided Arreola throughout his entire pro career, and informed BoxingScene.com that there wasn’t much to the switch beyond a change at the top level.

Ramirez plans to still be in Arreola’s corner for his next fight.

Arreola (38-5-1, 33KOs) has come up short in three separate bids at becoming the first-ever boxer of Mexican descent to win a piece of the heavyweight title. The California-born and bred slugger was stopped in the 10th round of a Sept. 2009 challenge of then-titlist Vitali Klitschko, followed by stoppage losses to Bermane Stiverne (May 2014) and Deontay Wilder (July 2016).

The latter of the three was believed to be enough to call it a career, but Arreola has since returned with a pair of knockout wins. He ended a 29-month ring hiatus with a 6th round stoppage of Maurenzo Smith off-TV shortly after the conclusion of a Showtime Pay-Per-View event topped by Wilder’s 12-round draw with Tyson Fury last December.

Three months later, a relatively trim Arreola made his way onto a PPV undercard, stopping previously unbeaten Jean Pierre Augustin in three rounds this past March. The bout opened up a Fox Sports Pay-Per-View topped by welterweight titlist Errol Spence’s 12-round shutout of Mikey Garcia in a battle of unbeaten pound-for-pound entrants.

Arreola’s next appearance will be his first without Ramirez as the lead trainer, although the switch to Goossen at least for this camp seems a natural fit. Dating back to his pro debut, Arreola has been intertwined with the Goossen family, with nearly all of his pro bouts being affiliated with Goossen-Tutor Promotions, which has since become TGB Promotions following the passing of promoter Dan Goossen in 2014.

Early whispers suggest Arreola can expect to return to the ring in either August or September. Against whom isn’t quite as clear; his handlers have suggested he will be facing Brooklyn-based contender Adam Kownacki, although such a matchup never went beyond mere suggestion and is not in store for the unbeaten Polish heavyweight.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox