Bigger Ruelas Finds Teran an Easy Touch in Knockout

Fernando Teran became the victim of a bigger Rafael Ruelas, being knocked down three times in the first round and bowing out at 2:45 Friday at the Country Club in Reseda.

Ruelas, of Arleta, is 26-0 with 22 knockouts.

Ruelas, 20, won the North American Boxing Federation featherweight championship in March, beating Stevie Cruz in three rounds in Las Vegas, and he could have been excused for having a slight letdown in the Country Club against an opponent who had lost four of his last five fights.

Instead, Ruelas began hitting Teran from the opening bell. A left uppercut dropped Teran at 1:30, and a combination put him down again 20 seconds later. When a grazing right high on the head sent Teran down for a third time, referee James Jen-Kin stopped the bout.

Teran, who weighed 129, is 28-10.

Ruelas said the bout against Cruz on March 31 might have been his last ever as a featherweight. Ruelas struggled to make the 126-pound limit for that bout and weighed 129 Friday night. At 5-feet-11, his body seems unable to train off any more excess weight.

Ruelas said he’s just glad to be done with the struggle of making 126 pounds, adding the first good meal in a long time was planned.

“I just can’t do it anymore,” he said. “I’m just 20. What am I supposed to do, stop growing?”