Sylmar’s Ruelas Defeats Paez; Fight Is Stopped After 10th : Boxing: Winner moves into contention for lightweight title after nearly scoring a knockout during the first round.

Rafael Ruelas wore down Jorge Paez with a relentless attack and stopped him after 10 rounds of a scheduled 12-round lightweight bout at the Forum on Friday night.

With a crowd of 8,807 cheering one of the most exciting Forum fights in several years, Ruelas prevailed because of his far superior conditioning and the pressure he put on Paez.

Ruelas (34-1) thus moved into title contention. Paez (41-5-4), from Mexicali, hoped a victory would lead to a rich rematch in Sacramento with lightweight champion Tony Lopez.

But it wasn’t to be, not on a night when Ruelas nearly took Paez out in round one.

The fight was stopped after Paez had a serious nosebleed and was cut inside his mouth. Ringside physician Robert Karns examined Paez in his corner and ordered the fight halted.

“He was swallowing a lot of blood and he was feeling sick to his stomach,” Karns said.

At the end, two judges had Ruelas ahead by 97-90 scores, the third by 98-90. The Times card had Ruelas ahead, 99-90.

In one of the wildest first rounds in Inglewood, both fighters came out throwing big punches, each trying to at least intimidate the other. Paez blinked first. A big left hook by Ruelas put Paez flat on his back midway through the round.

Paez got up shakily, and Ruelas landed punches to Paez’s body and head, then caught him with another left hook to the chin that knocked Paez down with 40 seconds left.

Paez had recovered by the second round, but Ruelas never once allowed his opponent to take a breather. It seemed that no more than five seconds ever went by without Ruelas throwing a punch.

Paez fought back in the second, third and fourth, but seemed frustrated by the busy Ruelas. Paez is a streaky slugger, who often goes through long periods of inactivity, sometimes even clowning.

But Ruelas never gave Paez any time for his clown routines.

Only once, during the sixth, did Paez show his customary flamboyance. When Ruelas missed a wild right, Paez made a matador-like gesture, waving Ruelas by as if he were holding a cape.

Paez showed up for this one in a floor-length sequined dress, with a serape thrown over his shoulders. But he boxed in calf-length shorts this time, not the black and white taffeta outfit he wore for his last Forum appearance.

Shaved into the back of his head was: CLINTON/TLC.

Much as Ruelas nearly won during the first, Paez had his moments, too.

Forty seconds into the fourth round, a big right-left combination by Paez rocked Ruelas and sent him reeling backward, to Paez’s corner. With two minutes left in the round, the 5-foot-6 Paez hit the 5-10 Ruelas at will. But as Paez seemed close to putting Ruelas away, he accidentally spit out his mouthpiece.

And when referee Marty Denkin stopped the action to retrieve it and have Paez’s cornermen clean it off and replace it, Paez kicked the mat in frustration.

Ruelas then regrouped, and Paez never had him in serious difficulty again.

It was a competitive fight for only eight rounds. Ruelas almost knocked Paez down again during the eighth, and Paez from that point stopped moving as much and stopped throwing as many punches.

At the end of the 10th, Ruelas had the bleeding Paez on the ropes.

“I thought I had it won after the two knockdowns,” Ruelas said.

“I felt stronger. He caught me with some good shots, but I showed I could take them. I’m not tired.”

Paez earned $50,000, Ruelas $30,000.

On the undercard, top-rated flyweight Ysaias Zamudio of Blythe won a unanimous decision over Jorge Luis Roman of Mexicali. And two promising Forum heavyweights, Dave Dixon and Josh Dempsey, both scored one-round knockouts: Dixon (14-2) over Mike Rouse and Dempsey (5-0) over William Bolden.