Rafael Ruelas

Lightweight Rafael Ruelas of Arleta will try to avenge his only loss and Frank Liles of Sherman Oaks and Tim Littles of Detroit will match unbeaten records in a super-middleweight bout tonight at the Hollywood Palladium. Ruelas, 31-1 with 25 knockouts, lost to Mauro Gutierrez of Tijuana last July when he was knocked down during the second round and then counted out when he misunderstood the referee's count while waiting on one knee. Gutierrez is 47-16-5. Liles, ranked No.

Rafael Ruelas went into training camp last week. The former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion was holed up in seclusion, away from his family, preparing for the daunting task at hand. But Ruelas wasn't pounding his way through sparring partners, getting ready for a fight. He was tearing through books and handouts, charts and reports, getting ready for a test. He was studying. As in school work.

In a test of endurance and punching power, Rafael Ruelas teetered on the brink of suffering a first-round knockout before regaining his composure and taking the International Boxing Federation lightweight championship away from Freddie Pendleton in an unanimous decision at the Forum on Saturday night.

Two weeks after a crushing defeat left his boxing career on the ropes, Rafael Ruelas said he has no plans to throw in the towel. Still, Ruelas, who started boxing at age 12, admits the thought has crossed his mind. And understandably so. Ruelas, 27, former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion, was soundly defeated Aug.

There is no air conditioning in the Coachella Boxing Club. On a day like last Tuesday, when the temperature climbed to 120 degrees, there is barely any air. Outside, the softball diamonds and surrounding park are empty. Who would be crazy enough to venture out in the heat of this day? Rafael Ruelas, for one. Yes, the same Ruelas whose boxing career was declared over three years ago, after he was hammered by Oscar De La Hoya in the second round of a highly hyped match that turned into a mismatch.

Rafael Ruelas of Arleta, the World Boxing Council's top-ranked lightweight, scored a technical knockout against Robert Rivera of Phoenix during the third round of their bout at the Reseda Country Club on Tuesday night. The bout was the first for Ruelas (35-1, 28 knockouts) since he won the North American Boxing Federation title with an 11th-round knockout of Jorge Paez in November at the Forum. He had an easier time against Rivera (18-2-1), and the fight was stopped at 2:23 of the third round.

On a piece of mountaintop peeking over the clouds below, the Ruelas brothers--bound by blood, sport and now, by championships--are together again. In a gym, of course. Rafael, the lanky International Boxing Federation lightweight champion, is in the ring stalking a sparring partner as he prepares for his title defense against Billy Schwer in Hong Kong on Oct. 22.

What does Los Angeles' left-out champion think of Saturday's fight? Genaro Hernandez, the World Boxing Assn. junior-lightweight champion, clearly has a rooting interest. "I'm hoping Rafael wins," Hernandez said recently. "But the first one that hits is the one that's going to win. Rafael, he doesn't have any body movement, and Oscar, that's the type of person he loves fighting. But Rafael has a big heart, so I think it's a tossup." Hernandez, who turned down a chance to fight De La Hoya on Feb.

Rafael Ruelas has retired. Not totally. Not enthusiastically. Not happily. But wisely. He has come to accept what others have whispered behind his back, that, at 27, he is a shot fighter. "I'm pretty much retired," Ruelas said. "I've fought for many years. Thank God, I'm at the point where financially, I don't have to fight. "If it was a good fight with a good opponent where there was something to gain for me, like a title, then I would fight again.

The boxing career of Rafael Ruelas, which included the International Boxing Federation lightweight title, may well have come to an end at the El Paso County Coliseum on Saturday night. No one who saw him get beaten and battered by Kostya Tszyu, who scored a ninth-round technical knockout, could make a case for the 27-year-old San Fernando Valley-based fighter continuing his ring career.

There is no air conditioning in the Coachella Boxing Club. On a day like last Tuesday, when the temperature climbed to 120 degrees, there is barely any air. Outside, the softball diamonds and surrounding park are empty. Who would be crazy enough to venture out in the heat of this day? Rafael Ruelas, for one. Yes, the same Ruelas whose boxing career was declared over three years ago, after he was hammered by Oscar De La Hoya in the second round of a highly hyped match that turned into a mismatch.

Rafael Ruelas of Sylmar scored a seventh-round knockout of Juan Baldwin in a junior-welterweight fight Friday night at Trump Marina in Atlantic City, N.J.

Rafael Ruelas got back to business by making short work of Mike Griffith on Saturday night at Fantasy Springs Casino. Ruelas, 26, the former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion from Sylmar, entered the ring for the first time in six months. He exited after two rounds and a technical-knockout victory.

Rafael Ruelas rocked the Reseda Country Club with his mere presence Thursday night. Then he rocked Javier Arce with left hooks and uppercuts. It seemed like old times for Ruelas, who recorded a second-round technical knockout before a crowd of about 800 in their scheduled 10-round super lightweight fight.

Much has changed for Rafael Ruelas in the four years since he last fought at the Reseda Country Club. Ruelas, 25, is the veteran of a fistful of stormy professional bouts and on the comeback trail, rather than among the up and coming. He's still rebounding from a devastating loss to Oscar De La Hoya. But one fact will ring familiar for Ruelas tonight when he faces Javier Arce in a 10-round junior welterweight bout--he is seeking a world title.

Rafael Ruelas, former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion, will fight at the Reseda Country Club for the first time in nearly four years when he faces Javier Arce of Mexico in a 10-round junior welterweight fight Thursday night. Ruelas, 25, whose record is 47-3 with 37 knockouts, will try for a fifth straight victory since losing consecutive fights in 1995 to Oscar De La Hoya and George Scott. Arce, 25, is 15-10 with 11 knockouts.