Gabriel Ruelas

No, Gabriel Ruelas kept telling himself, it was all wrong. Jimmy Garcia wasn't supposed to die. He, Ruelas, was the one who was supposed to die young. That's the way it had always been in the dreams. Night after night they would come to him in his restless sleep. The circumstances were different, but the result was always the same. Gabe Ruelas dead before his time. Although he has been a boxer since age 12, he never died in the ring in the dreams. Often it would be in a car accident.

Gabriel Ruelas, never able to escape the ghost of Jimmy Garcia, has decided, at 28, to seek refuge in retirement. Ruelas, who rose from a childhood of poverty in Mexico to win the World Boxing Council super-featherweight title, said he would permanently hang up his gloves after losing last weekend to John Brown on an eighth-round TKO in Atlantic City, N.J.

Gabriel Ruelas of Arleta, the World Boxing Council's top junior lightweight contender and the North American Boxing Federation champion, earned a majority decision over South Africa's Paul Ditau Molefyane in a 10-round bout Saturday night at the Country Club in Reseda. Ruelas, 132 3/4, won on the cards of two of three judges and the third called it a draw. Ruelas improved to 31-1 with 16 knockouts. Molefyane, 132 3/4, fell to 23-6 with 11 KOs.

Joe Goossen's gym in Van Nuys may be small, but it is big enough for Gabriel Ruelas and Azumah Nelson. After two intense title fights, the gloves are off and hands extended between the onetime lightweight rivals, who suddenly are stablemates under Goossen in the twilight of their careers.

Awakened by being knocked down, Gabriel Ruelas eventually took control of what was supposed to be a meaningless undercard tune-up fight Tuesday night. In the evening's main event at the Reseda Country Club, highly-ranked heavyweight Lionel Butler scored a first-round technical knockout over Jerry Jones after opening a cut over Jones' left eye. But the most dramatic moment of the night was Ruelas, the World Boxing Council's No.

Gabriel Ruelas, who learned to box at Ten Goose Boxing in Van Nuys, will try to win a second world title tonight when he challenges Arturo Gatti for the International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight championship at Atlantic City, N.J. The bout is on the undercard of the World Boxing Council heavyweight title fight between Lennox Lewis and Andrew Golota. The undercard also includes an eight-round welterweight bout between former U.S.

Gabriel Ruelas says he has had no problem getting psyched for his second defense of the World Boxing Council's super-featherweight championship. "I want to make someone pay for me not seeing my baby son for seven weeks," Ruelas said. That someone is Jimmy Garcia of Colombia. Ruelas hopes to make quick work of Garcia in the second bout of the pay-per-view telecast from Caesars Palace, shower, relax a few minutes and then go back outside to watch brother Rafael against Oscar De La Hoya.

Gabriel Ruelas got to Azumah Nelson first, but couldn't finish him off. Jesse James Leija got Nelson next, and, after a draw, convincingly ended boxing's longest reign last May in their rematch. So now, Sylmar's Ruelas (38-2, 21 knockouts) and Leija will fight tonight on the Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor undercard at the MGM Grand Garden for Leija's World Boxing Council junior-lightweight title. And Azumah Nelson is the name both fighters mention to bolster their cases.

Gabriel Ruelas, former World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion, won a 10-round unanimous decision over James Crayton in a lightweight main event before 891 Friday night at Fantasy Springs Casino. Ruelas (44-3) fought with a left thumb that was sprained in the first round. Still, he landed the most telling blows of a close fight, relying mostly on uppercuts and shots to the body. Two judges scored the fight 96-94. A third favored Ruelas, 97-93.

Gabriel Ruelas returns to the ring for the first time tonight since losing his World Boxing Council super-featherweight title to Azumah Nelson in December. Ruelas (41-3, 23 knockouts) will face Julio Cesar Herrera (21-2, 19 knockouts) in the 10-round main event at the Olympic Auditorium. In the bout before the loss to Nelson, Ruelas beat Jimmy Garcia so badly that Garcia subsequently died of a brain injury. For some, Ruelas won't be the main attraction tonight.

Brothers Rafael and Gabriel Ruelas of Sylmar, former world champions, are scheduled to fight on separate boxing cards in the next two months. Rafael (51-3, 41 knockouts), who lost his International Boxing Federation lightweight title to Oscar De La Hoya in 1995, will face an opponent to be determined in a 10-round junior-welterweight bout June 19 in Atlantic City, N.J.

Lennox Lewis' trainer, Emmanuel Steward, said last week there are only four legitimate heavyweights. One of them was Andrew Golota. That tells you all you need to know about how pathetic a division it is that now presumably has only three true fighters, Evander Holyfield, Michael Moorer and Lewis. Unfortunately, I learned that after ordering the pay-per-view telecast from Atlantic City on Saturday night. But my $39.95 wasn't entirely wasted.

Gabriel Ruelas, who learned to box at Ten Goose Boxing in Van Nuys, will try to win a second world title tonight when he challenges Arturo Gatti for the International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight championship at Atlantic City, N.J. The bout is on the undercard of the World Boxing Council heavyweight title fight between Lennox Lewis and Andrew Golota. The undercard also includes an eight-round welterweight bout between former U.S.

This is a strange and possibly wonderful time for Gabriel Ruelas, who used to say he never expected to fight, or live, this long. At 27, preparing for another--perhaps final?--shot at major billing on a major card for a major title, Ruelas is neither up-and-coming nor old-and-washed-up, but wandering somewhere in between. Mature, experienced, and heading . . . where?

Gabriel Ruelas, former World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion, won a 10-round unanimous decision over James Crayton in a lightweight main event before 891 Friday night at Fantasy Springs Casino. Ruelas (44-3) fought with a left thumb that was sprained in the first round. Still, he landed the most telling blows of a close fight, relying mostly on uppercuts and shots to the body. Two judges scored the fight 96-94. A third favored Ruelas, 97-93.

No ghosts this time. Still, Gabriel Ruelas had his mind on an opponent other than the one in the ring while winning a 10-round unanimous decision over James Crayton in a lightweight main event before a crowd of 891 Friday night at Fantasy Springs Casino. Ruelas (44-3), former World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion from Sylmar, was scheduled to fight former International Boxing Federation champion Troy Dorsey at Indio before Dorsey fell ill with flu.

One hundred thirty thousand in the stands. Azumah Nelson in the ring. Julio Cesar Chavez in the dressing room, preparing for his featured fight. Feb. 20, 1993, still is burned into Gabriel Ruelas' mind as the night he went as high up the mountain as he could, then fell back when he lost a decision to then-champion Nelson. The Nelson fight in Mexico City's Azteca Stadium was Ruelas' entry into boxing's championship level. His opponent was considered one of boxing's greatest titleholders.

Jimmy Garcia of Colombia was in critical condition Saturday night and undergoing brain surgery to remove a potentially life-threatening blood clot after enduring almost 11 rounds of pounding from World Boxing Council super-flyweight champion Gabriel Ruelas. Neurosurgeon Al Campana, who accompanied Garcia in the ambulance from Caesars Palace to University Medical Center, performed a CAT-scan that discovered the condition, called a subdural hematoma, ringside physician Flip Homansky said.

His right hand has mended and his psyche continues to heal. Now, it's time for Gabriel Ruelas to fight. If only it was that simple. Ruelas (43-3 with 23 knockouts), former World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion, will face James Crayton in a 10-round lightweight main event tonight at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio. For Ruelas, 26, who grew up in Sylmar and rose to prominence as a stable member of Ten Goose Boxing in North Hollywood, the bout is the latest on the comeback trail.

Once asked how long he would continue fighting, Tex Cobb, a notorious bleeder, replied, "As long as they've got the money, I've got the brain cells." Cobb laughed after making the remark. Boxers often use humor as a shield against the reality of their sport. But boxing is no laughing matter. Fighters can suffer brain damage every time they take a blow to the head. And far too often, that damage proves fatal.