Ruelas Has Rivera Seeing Double

The marquee outside the Reseda Country Club trumpeting Tuesday night’s bout between Rafael Ruelas of Arleta and Robert Rivera of Phoenix spelled Ruelas’ first name Raphael, which is not the traditional Hispanic spelling but is the accepted version for the teen-age mutant Ninja turtle of the same name.

When the featherweight bout was over, Rivera could have been excused for thinking all four of the green cartoon amphibians had attacked him.

Ruela (35-1, 28 knockouts), ranked No. 1 by the World Boxing Council in the 135-pound division, caught Rivera with a thunderous right hand early in the third round of the scheduled 12-round bout.

When Rivera got back up on wobbly legs, Ruelas attacked wildly, knocking Rivera down again with another crushing right and forcing referee Burton Gilliam to stop the fight with 37 seconds left in the round.

The third-round knockout was Ruelas’ first defense of the North American Boxing Federation lightweight crown that he won last November with a devastating 11th-round knockout of Jorge Paez at the Forum in Inglewood.

Rivera (18-2-1) didn’t have to wait that long. He revealed a serious flaw in the opening round, throwing out a tentative right hand from his southpaw stance.

“The first time he threw that punch I knew what was going to happen,” said Ruelas. “I just didn’t know when.”

The when occurred only seconds into the third round. Rivera (135) eased out the slow-moving punch as he leaned against the ropes in a neutral corner, and Ruelas (139) coiled and struck. The right hand over Rivera’s right landed cleanly on Rivera’s chin and dropped him hard on his back.

“Rafael saw it coming, I saw it coming, everyone saw it coming,” said Ruelas’ trainer, Joe Goossen. “That was, really, the end of the fight.”

The tough Rivera struggled back onto his feet but was immediately overwhelmed by a flurry of punches. He got up again after the second knockdown and tried to fight back, but Ruelas was punching furiously and accurately. When referee Gilliam finally jumped between the fighters and pulled Ruelas away to stop the carnage, Ruelas was still throwing heavy, thudding blows as Rivera sagged helplessly against the ropes.

In an earlier bout, heavyweight Lionel Butler (15-10-1) of Van Nuys won his ninth consecutive bout by knockout, turning the lights out on ex-light heavyweight Tony Willis of Los Angeles at 2:15 of the fifth round. Butler stunned Willis (21-6) with a pair of crashing left hooks to the chin and, after Willis got up, hammered him with two more heavy punches to the chin. Referee Chuck Hassett stopped the fight with Willis draped over the top rope. Butler weighed 231, Willis 212.

Also, Ireland’s 1992 bantamweight silver medalist, Wayne McCullough of Belfast, made his pro debut a roaring success, stopping Alfonzo Zamora (1-2) of Los Angeles 39 seconds into the fourth round after administering a beating from the opening bell.

The fast and heavy-handed McCullough (118 1/2) pounded Zamora (117) in every round, rocking him with furious combinations. He finally knocked down the dazed and bleeding Zamora seconds into the fourth round and forced referee Rudy Jordan to halt the beating moments later.