Notes on a Scorecard - May 7, 1995

Oscar De La Hoya showed more in 4 minutes 43 seconds Saturday night than most fighters do in a career. . . .

He turned La Batalla into a recital of his many skills. . . .

Rafael Ruelas never had a chance. . . .

De La Hoya wouldn’t allow him one. . . .

In the biggest fight of his professional career, De La Hoya fought the perfect fight. . . .

He outpunched, outboxed and out-thought his Southern California rival. . . .

He even seemed to win over the crowd of 10,118 that greeted Ruelas more warmly, but left the outdoor arena aware that it had just seen one of the brightest young stars in sports. . . .

Most of the spectators were unaware that Jimmy Garcia, who had been stopped by Rafael Ruelas’ brother Gabriel in the 11th round in an earlier bout, was in critical condition at a hospital and scheduled to undergo surgery for a blood clot beneath the lining of his brain. . . .

The atmosphere was electric as De La Hoya and Ruelas were introduced, but it was difficult for some of us in press row who had been informed of Garcia’s condition to concentrate. . . .

One moment, Garcia was taking some of Ruelas’ best shots without blinking. The next, he was being carried out of the ring on a stretcher after collapsing in his corner. . . .

No blame should be placed on referee Mitch Halpern. . . .

He appeared to stop the fight at the proper moment. . . .

In fact, Ruelas, unaware of Garcia’s condition at the time, said he was disappointed with his performance and wasn’t surprised that Garcia never was knocked down. . . .

In the first bout of the night, Jo-el Scott had to work longer than usual. . . .

The unbeaten 6-foot-3, 234-pound 24-year-old from Albany, N.Y., had knocked out seven of his first nine opponents in the first round. . . .

This time, it wasn’t until 37 seconds of the second round that he was able to stop 245-pound Kimmuel Odum. . . .

Scott has a heavy jab and a powerful left hook and could be a breath of fresh air in a division that badly needs it. . . .

Dangerous Dana Rosenblatt Fan Club membership requests are now at an all-time high. . . .

In what the unbeaten middleweight from Malden, Mass., had termed his coming-out party, he knocked out Chad Parker at 1:28 of the first round. . . .

It was the rarest kind of KO--a one-punch job. . . .

The previously unbeaten Parker walked into a right hand and fell to the canvas. The referee called it a night before picking up the count from the timekeeper. . . .

What is a fight night in Nevada without some controversy? . . .

This time it was provided by the Johnny Tapia-Ricardo Vargas bout. . . .

Their heads collided in the seventh round and both were cut. . . .

Vargas couldn’t continue during the eighth because of the gash over his left eye. Thus, the winner would be decided by the scorecards. . . .

One judge had Tapia ahead and the other two scored it even, meaning it was ruled a technical majority draw and Tapia retained his World Boxing Organization junior bantamweight title. . . .

The biggest upset of the night was the weather, which was beautiful after thunder showers had been forecast. . . .

Fortunately, Caesars Palace didn’t need the 14,000 plastic ponchos it was prepared to give to fans if it had rained. . . .

A mariachi band serenaded early arrivals. . . .

Among those in attendance was Bobby Chacon, who knocked out Danny (Little Red) Lopez 21 years ago at the Sports Arena in the last big bout between young Southern California rivals. . . .

The celebrity list included Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman, Lolita Davidovich, Don Johnson, Larry Fishburne, Anthony Kiedis, Garry Shandling, Paul Rodriguez and Ron Shelton. . . .

As usual, Nicholson received the loudest cheers when he was introduced. . . .

During the eighth round of the Ruelas-Garcia fight, a chorus of boos erupted. Lawyer Robert Shapiro had entered the stadium. . . .

Two-time Academy Award winner Hackman, a friend of the Ruelas brothers, tossed a coin Friday night to determine which main-event fighter weighed in first, entered the ring first, got introduced first, etc. . . .

Ruelas won the toss. . . .

However, it was the only thing he would win over the weekend.