Negotiations are underway for a potential bout between THE RING’s super middleweight champion Andre Ward and RING light heavyweight king Chad Dawson on Sept. 8 in Atlantic City or Los Angeles, Ward’s promoter, Dan Goossen, told CSNBAYAREA.com on Thursday.

Rated No. 5 pound-for-pound by THE RING, Ward (25-0, 13 knockouts) has been declared the WBC’s “champion in recess” apparently for failing to make a mandatory defense of his crown against Anthony Dirrell of Flint, Mich., who has been directed to face Nikola Sjekloca, of Budva, Montenegro, according to the organization’s Secretary General, Mauricio Sulaiman.

Although the ruling effectively stripped the 28-year-old resident of Oakland, Calif., of the belt he won by defeating England’s Carl Froch in the December finals of Showtime’s Super Six Super Middleweight Classic, Ward’s adviser, James Prince, said his fighter’s resume trumps the belt.

Prince acknowledged during an interview with RingTV.com that Goossen had begun the process of making a September bout with Dawson (31-1, 17 KOs), whose majority decision win dethroned Bernard Hopkins (52-6-2, 32 KOs) in Atlantic City on April 28.

Photo by Tom Casino, Showtime

Lem Satterfield can be reached at [email protected]