Rafael Ruelas Drops Off Olympic Card, but Gabriel Still On

The Ruelas brothers were supposed to make their triumphant return to the ring Wednesday night at the Olympic Auditorium.

Instead, the real triumph belongs to Top Rank Boxing matchmaker Bruce Trampler, just for keeping this card together. Rafael Ruelas, trying to bounce back after consecutive losses to Oscar De La Hoya and George Scott, has had to drop out of his bout against Anthony Johnson because of a hand injury he suffered in a sparring session several days ago.

And Gabriel Ruelas, trying to prove that his loss in his last fight was caused by a case of flu, not a ghost, is now on his third opponent.

But Trampler has managed to salvage the show. First, Manuel Castillo was scheduled to face Gabriel Ruelas. Then it was Eduardo Perez.

When Perez dropped out Thursday night for unspecified reasons, Trampler came up with an opponent who may be better than the two others, Julio Cesar Herrera (21-2, 19 knockouts), to face Gabriel Ruelas in the 10-round super-featherweight main event.

To replace the Rafael Ruelas-Johnson match, Trampler has cruiserweight Andrew Maynard (23-7, 20 knockouts) a gold medal winner in the 1988 Olympics as a light-heavyweight, facing Kenny Keene (33-1, 21 knockouts).

Also on the card will be the darling of the weight-watcher set, Eric “Butterbean” Esch, billed as the champion of the four-rounders. That’s because four rounds is about his limit before fatigue and hunger pangs set in. Esch (17-1, 12 knockouts) will face Billy McDonald (3-1, two knockouts).

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When Gabriel Ruelas enters the ring, he will, regardless of the opponent, bring questions and doubts with him.

It used to be so easy for Ruelas. All he had to worry about was the opponent in front of him. And for much of his career that was not a big problem.

Then, last May 6, he fought Jimmy Garcia in Las Vegas and beat Garcia so badly that Garcia subsequently died of a brain injury.

Ruelas took Garcia’s death extremely hard. He had visited Garcia when the Colombian fighter lay in intensive care. Garcia, said Ruelas, had given him a sign that he was forgiven for inadvertently inflicting the fatal blow. Ruelas even talked about retiring during the 13 days that Garcia lay in a coma.

But after Garcia’s death, Ruelas slowly bounced back. Garcia would never be forgotten, Ruelas said, but it was time to get on with his own life, to use the skills he had spent a lifetime learning and sharpening.

Ruelas returned to the ring in December, defending his World Boxing Council super-featherweight title against Azumah Nelson at the Fantasy Springs Casino near Indio.

Before the fight, Ruelas talked positively about settling with Garcia in his mind by donating his profits from the pay-per-view telecast to the three young children Garcia had left behind.

Then the fight began and it looked as if Ruelas had put nothing behind him.

Just the opposite.

He later revealed that he saw Garcia’s face in front of him when the fight was stopped in the fifth round. From the opening bell, Ruelas looked like a wildly swinging amateur rather than the polished professional he had become in amassing a 41-3 record with 23 knockouts.

At first, Ruelas admitted that he had not yet made his peace with Garcia. But by the next day, he said that the problem was stomach flu. The pain was so bad, Ruelas said, that he couldn’t even bounce around on his feet before the fight to warm up as he normally does.

“I should have called the fight off right then and there,” Ruelas said. “But I saw the [TV] trucks and the satellite dishes and I felt like I owed people a lot and they were expecting me to fight.”

So out he came. And down he went, once from a body blow delivered by Nelson that wreaked havoc with his already tender midsection.

“He didn’t want to tell anyone that he was sick,” said Ruelas’ wife, Leslie. “I couldn’t believe it, but he was more worried about what people would think, instead of worrying about himself. It wasn’t about visions. It was a virus.”

A one-time thing, Ruelas insisted.

“That has never happened in all the fights I’ve had,” he said. “It can’t happen again.”

But Ruelas’ promoter, Bob Arum, wasn’t convinced. Neither was Ruelas’ manager, Dan Goossen.

They got firm with Ruelas. If he wanted them to remain in his corner and continue to push his career, he would have to go to a therapist to determine his state of mind.

Ruelas agreed. He went four times, although he continues to insist it wasn’t necessary.

“I went for Dan Goossen,” Ruelas said. “But there is nothing wrong with me. Talking to the therapist was like talking to a reporter. I’d already been through talking about the whole thing with the media before I went to him.

“I’m fine. All I need is another chance to fight for a title.”

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Boxing Notes

Heavyweight Axel Schulz and his promoters have filed a suit in Federal Court in New York seeking to take the International Boxing Federation heavyweight title away from Francois Botha. Schulz is also seeking a order making him the IBF champion and wants $10 million in damages. Botha beat Schulz for the title in December, but it was later revealed Botha had tested positive for a steroid.

Also on Wednesday night’s card at the Olympic are welterweights Jyri Kjall (9-1, nine knockouts) and Yoani Cervantes (6-6, three knockouts) in a six-round match; light-heavyweights Roar Petajamaa (10-0, seven knockouts) and Angel Arreola (3-2-2, two knockouts) in a six-rounder, and featherweights Marcos Licona (4-0, two knockouts) and Marco Antonio Ramos (6-6, one knockout) in a four-rounder.

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Calendar

Wednesday--Gabriel Ruelas vs. Julio Cesar Herrera, super-featherweights; Andrew Maynard vs. Kenny Keene, cruiserweights, Olympic Auditorium, 7 p.m.