St. John Easily Lives Up to Billing

She is billed as “The Knockout.”

So, it was only fitting that the professional debut of Mia St. John of Woodland Hills, former swimsuit model and taekwondo black belt, ended with just that.

Still, St. John considered her first-round victory over Anjelica Villan on Friday night at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio a bit too brief.

“I don’t know what happened,” St. John said. “I’d like to see the tape.”

The fight came and went about as quickly as it takes to read this collection of paragraphs.

A recap:

St. John walloped Villan with a pair of right hands, the second of which ended their scheduled four-round women’s featherweight bout after only 54 seconds.

Villan, who came out swinging wildly, remained on the canvas for several seconds after being counted out. Meanwhile, St. John, her long black hair tightly braided, jogged in place with her gloves raised triumphantly.

“I worked so hard for this--six hours a day, seven days a week,” St. John said. “No one can say I don’t deserve it.”

Yet, it was difficult to tell if St. John, who eschewed acting and posing for calendars for a career in pugilism, possesses the skills to make it as a fighter.

Regardless, there was no mistaking her appeal, considering the applause with which she was greeted. After the fight, St. John was besieged by autograph-seekers and posed for photographs.

Some things never change.

“You always hope to knock out someone,” St. John said. “But I was hoping to get more air time so people could see that I have the skills.”

*

Gabriel and Rafael Ruelas of Sylmar each have an injured hand that needs healing before they fight again.

Gabriel (44-3), who won a 10-round unanimous decision over James Crayton in a lightweight main event Friday night at Indio, suffered a sprained left thumb in the first round, inhibiting his ability to use that hand with authority.

After the fight, Ruelas conducted interviews with the hand in ice. The ring doctor dropped by Ruelas’ dressing quarters for a brief examination.

“Tell me it’s not broken,” Ruelas said.

“Probably not,” the doctor replied, tugging at the thumb.

Rafael Ruelas suffered a similar injury in his last fight, a second-round technical knockout of Javier Arce on Jan. 23 at the Reseda Country Club.

Ruelas, former International Boxing Federation lightweight champion, raised a right hand wrapped in a cast when he was introduced to the crowd of 891. The cast could be removed this week, Ruelas said.

“The doctor said the bone is fine, he just wanted to immobilize it,” Ruelas said. “I should be back in full force by mid-March.”

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Heavyweight Lance Whitaker of Granada Hills, whose scheduled four-round bout with Orlando LaValle on Friday night at Indio was postponed, will fight LaValle on Feb. 25 at the Long Beach Pyramid.

LaValle, who was knocked out by Tongan heavyweight Paea Wolfgramm last month at the Country Club, reportedly had flu. But Whitaker was skeptical.

“The guy’s afraid, I guess,” Whitaker said with a shrug. “I was ready to fight.”

Whitaker, 6 feet 8 and 250 pounds, has five knockouts in as many fights since turning pro last July. Since then, Whitaker has fought seven incomplete rounds.

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The vacant World Boxing Federation lightweight title will be on the line again when Danny Lujan and Juan Lazcano square off in a 12-round main event Thursday night at the Country Club.

Lujan (11-3-2, 6 KOs) and Lazcano (14-1-1, 10 KOs) fought to a 12-round majority draw at the Country Club on Dec. 19 in an entertaining bout.

Lujan floored Lazcano in the sixth round. Lazcano bloodied Lujan’s face but was penalized one point for hitting after the bell in the ninth round.

The undercard is scheduled to include middleweight Robert Tubbs, nephew of former world heavyweight champion Tony Tubbs, against Chris Sande. Also scheduled: welterweight Horatio Garcia, junior-welterweight Effi Schneider, middleweight Monroe Brooks Jr. and featherweight Arnuflo Bravo.