Ruelas Remains Unbeaten With 7th-Round KO

Unbeaten featherweight Rafael Ruelas of Arleta knocked down veteran Felipe De Jesus in the third round, then stopped him 1 minute 39 seconds into the seventh round Saturday of a bout that was scheduled for 10 rounds at ARCO Arena in Sacramento.

The victory boosted Ruelas’ record to 21-0. It was his 18th knockout. De Jesus, a native of Mexico City now living in San Bernardino, fell to 33-7. The bout, televised nationally, was on the undercard of the International Boxing Federation junior lightweight title fight between champion Tony Lopez and Jorge Paez.

In the opening round, Ruelas, 19, was rocked by a left hook from De Jesus, who entered the bout with 22 knockouts, but he avoided further damage and in the closing seconds of the round staggered De Jesus with a crunching right to the jaw.

In the third round, Ruelas, who at 5-foot-10 is five inches taller than De Jesus, opened with a furious assault, staggering De Jesus again then dropping him with a solid right to the chin. The blow also opened a gash over De Jesus’ right eye.

Ruelas, who trains at the Ten Goose Gym in Van Nuys, appeared to tire in the fourth and fifth rounds as the left-handed De Jesus continually backed him up and landed the cleaner punches. But Ruelas picked up the pace in the sixth round and in the seventh began to overpower De Jesus.

He stunned De Jesus with a right hand just seconds into the round and sent him reeling across the ring with a three-punch combination. With De Jesus backed against the ropes, Ruelas then unleashed another flurry of punches.

Ten seconds later Ruelas caught De Jesus in the middle of the ring and battered him with four crushing punches, sending him staggering backward, his hands limp at his sides. The referee then stopped the fight.