State Featherweight Title on Line for Arleta’s Ruelas

When 11-year-old Rafael Ruelas announced that he wanted to be a boxer, trainer Joe Goossen glanced at the 85-pound child from Arleta and, in a soft voice, told him to forget it. He used a soft voice because his normal speaking voice might have knocked over the amazingly skinny kid.

But Ruelas persisted. And Goossen allowed him to start hanging around the gym.

Tuesday night, eight years after that introduction, Ruelas and Goossen will step through the ropes at the Country Club in Reseda for a shot at the California featherweight championship. Ruelas, 19, will fight Richard Abila (21-6) of Las Vegas for the title in a scheduled 12-round bout.

Ruelas often has been sensational in piling up a 21-0 record with 18 knockouts. Between May and July of 1989 he fought four times and scored four knockouts, all in the third round. He followed that streak by knocking out his next four opponents in the first round.

Earlier this year, Ruelas went against decidedly tougher competition. And while it took him a bit longer, the results were the same. He knocked out Job Walters of New York in the ninth round of a bout in Las Vegas and, in his most recent fight, knocked out Felipe de Jesus of Mexico in the seventh round in Sacramento. It was the first time either had been stopped.

“People shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Rafael is only 19,” said Dan Goossen, president of the Van Nuys-based Ten Goose Boxing Club and Ruelas’ manager. “And at just 19, he is handling men in the ring, and handling them in a convincing style.”

And people are beginning to notice. Based on his performance against de Jesus, Ruelas has vaulted in the North American Boxing Federation ratings of contenders from No. 8 to No. 2. A victory Tuesday night will set up a strong bid for a world championship early next year, Goossen said. Among the possibilities is a bout against International Boxing Federation champion Troy Dorsey.

“It all seems like it has happened so fast,” Ruelas said. “It just doesn’t seem like it was very long ago when we got started, when I first put on gloves. It has gone by in a hurry. And, by next year, I want to be fighting for a world title.”

Also on the card will be an exhibition bout featuring World Boxing Council junior middleweight champion Terry Norris. Norris, who will fight Sugar Ray Leonard on Feb. 9 in Madison Square Garden, will take on two opponents in four-round bouts as part of his training for the Leonard fight.

On the undercard, former middleweight contender Alex Ramos of Simi Valley will take on Roberto Rosiles (21-11-1) of Mexicali, Mexico, in a scheduled 10-round bout. Ramos is 29-8-2 and will be fighting for the second time after a layoff of more than two years.