Ruelas Pair Punch Out Twin Wins : Boxing: Rafael prevails on a first-round knockout and Gabriel scores a lopsided decision at Country Club.

Rafael and Gabriel Ruelas of Arleta, the biggest fights of their careers within sight, were supposed to be matched against a pair of classic tomato cans--boxing’s way of calling someone a bum--Tuesday night at the Country Club in Reseda.

They got one tomato can.

And one tomato truck .

Rafael, the No. 7-ranked lightweight contender in the World Boxing Council rankings, got the can. He knocked out Benjamin Dominguez at 2 minutes 7 seconds of the first round with a pair of crashing right hands to the jaw.

But in the second bout, Gabriel got the truck, a granite-hard fighter from Durango, Mexico, named Ismael Diaz. Gabriel lashed Diaz with thudding, crashing lefts and rights to the head and body nonstop for 10 rounds but had to settle for a lopsided unanimous decision.

Gabriel is ranked No. 1 in the super featherweight division by both the WBC and the World Boxing Assn., and a mandatory bout against WBC champion Azumah Nelson beckons, as early as December, according to manager Dan Goossen.

The beating he handed Diaz was at times stunning, snapping Diaz’s head back with both hands and ripping body shots that reverberated throughout the building. But Diaz never flinched.

“He never even changed expressions,” said Ruelas’ trainer, Joe Goossen. “He was hard as ice. Maybe he’s a robot.”

Gabriel (32-1) called it his finest performance.

His only loss came two years ago when a bone in his right elbow snapped during a bout against journeyman Jeff Franklin in Las Vegas, and he had fought tentatively with the right hand since.

“Tonight it all changed,” Gabriel said. “Tonight I let it go as hard as I could. I landed some heavy, heavy punches with it. This was the old Gabriel.

“I hit him with some great shots and he didn’t go down, but he kept saying ‘uh’ with my best punches, so I knew I was hurting him. But still, I was shocked that he didn’t go down. I needed to put pressure on him and stay in there during the heavy fighting. I hadn’t always done that, but that’s what I’ve got to do against Azumah Nelson.”

Ruelas weighed 135, five pounds above the super featherweight limit.

Diaz also weighed 135.

In the first bout, Rafael Ruelas (33-1) rocked Dominguez with a brutal right to the chin in the opening round and followed it with virtually the same punch 10 seconds later. Then, as Dominguez sagged against the ropes, he ripped a five-punch combination. Dominguez crashed to the mat and stayed there for 45 seconds.

The victory secured an Oct. 19 fight for Rafael against Jorge Paez of Mexicali, the former International Boxing Federation champion who watched the bout at the Country Club. That bout will be at the Forum.

Rafael weighed 136. Dominguez (19-10) weighed 134.

In an earlier bout, Jeff Leggett, 154, of Campo, Calif., ran his record to 4-0 with a tough five-round decision over Frankie Moore of Oakland in a junior middleweight bout.

Leggett dominated the first four rounds but had to withstand a furious final-round rally by Moore. In the fifth round, Leggett was rocked by more than a dozen heavy punches and appeared wobbly but survived to the final bell.

Moore is 7-2.