Price Was Right, but Boxer Made Wrong Decision

Last July, unheralded boxer Mauro Gutierrez of Tijuana scored a stunning second-round knockout over previously unbeaten lightweight Rafael Ruelas of Arleta at the Reseda Country Club.

Ruelas was knocked down, but appeared unhurt. He quickly got to one knee and watched his trainer, Joe Goossen, who was advising Ruelas to catch his breath.

Ruelas, however, focused too much attention on Goossen and not enough on the referee, failing to listen to the count. When the referee counted 10, Ruelas leaped to his feet, but it was too late.

Gutierrez, who was paid $3,000 for the fight, was offered $20,000 for a quick rematch by Dan Goossen, Ruelas’ manager and the fight’s promoter. Gutierrez turned down the offer, saying he wanted far more.

On July 7, Ruelas and Gutierrez finally meet in the rematch at the Hollywood Palladium.

Gutierrez will be paid $6,500.

“Hey,” Goossen said with a smile, “we’re in a recession.”

Trivia time: With the approval of major league baseball, Nintendo President Hiroshi Yamauchi is about to become majority owner of the Seattle Mariners. In the minds of millions of youngsters, Nintendo is synonymous with video games. But it wasn’t always so. What did the company manufacture when it was a little-known family business for the Yamauchis?

Shooting from the mouth: Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76er forward, was the leading vote-getter for the third consecutive season on the All-NBA Interview Team.

That’s hardly surprising for someone who verbally blasted some of his peers in his recently released autobiography, then claimed he was misquoted in his own book.

“What some might call controversial, I call telling the truth,” he writes in “Outrageous! by Charles Barkley.”

Barkley received 52 votes in balloting by a panel of 75 writers and broadcasters. Balloting is conducted by the NBA Public Relations Directors Assn.

Barkley has been elected to the team five times in its six years of existence. The squad consists of five players, regardless of position, and a coach.

Behind Barkley are Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz with 28 votes, Kevin McHale of the Boston Celtics with 24, Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls with 22 and Doc Rivers of the Clippers and Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers, tied with 18 apiece.

The coach is Cotton Fitzsimmons of the Phoenix Suns with 24 votes.

Add All-Interview: He isn’t in the news as much now that he is retired, but the Lakers’ Michael Cooper was an interview all-star in his playing days.

Back in the early 1980s, after they arrived in Los Angeles, the Raiders continued to train in Northern California, commuting to their new home only for games.

On one trip, the Raiders found themselves booked on the same flight as the Lakers, who were heading to Oakland to play the Warriors.

Walking down the aisle, Cooper looked around at his teammates and the Raiders, then said to a reporter seated nearby, “If this plane goes down, you won’t even get in the small print.”

Trivia answer: Playing cards.

Quotebook: Writes Barkley in his autobiography: “I don’t create controversies. They’re there long before I open my mouth. I just bring them to your attention.”