FRIENDS MAY AS WELL FIGHT LIKE BROTHERS.

Byline: MIKE ROSENTHAL 

They liked each other from the start. They've spent time at each other's homes. They and their families had barbecues. They even joked that they were cousins and it was almost as if they were.

And, on Nov. 20 at the Olympic Auditorium, they'll be trying to beat each other to a pulp.

Such is boxing.

Yes, WBC super featherweight champion Genaro Hernandez and Carlos Hernandez are good friends. And, yes, they'll square off in five weeks in perhaps the biggest matchups of Angelenos since Oscar De La Hoya knocked out Rafael Ruelas two years ago in Las Vegas.

It's business. There's money to be made, which is good. There's also the friendship, which is bad.

``I thought we'd go different ways,'' said Genaro Hernandez, clearly unhappy to be in this position. ``I thought I would hold onto my title, he would win one and then, maybe, we'd have a big-money fight to unify the titles.

``I think it was his managers that wanted it now, not him. Now, two friends have to meet in the ring and do something they don't want to do: hurt each other.''

Carlos Hernandez, an L.A. native of Salvadoran descent, is excited.

It's the 26-year-old's first world-title shot and his first time in the spotlight. Like most fighters, he loves the attention. Indeed, it's a great - perhaps once-in-a-lifetime - opportunity.

At the same time, he has reservations, too.

When he walked into the now-defunct Brooklyn Gym in Boyle Heights for the first time, Genaro Hernandez already was a champion. Of course, the younger fighter idolized the champ and constantly solicited his advice: How do you throw this punch? How do you avoid that punch?

This went on until only a few months ago, when it became apparent they would fight one another. Then, Carlos Hernandez put space between the two. Before a news conference last week, they hadn't spoken for a while.

``That helps, not being around him,'' said Carlos Hernandez, attempting to cope with the strange situation. ``It allows me to focus on what I need to do: destroy him and win his title.''

Initially, the younger fighter didn't speak with such bravado. He, too, was taken aback by the prospect of fighting his friend.

When his manager, Jack Lipeles, approached him with the possibility, he asked whether there wasn't another champion he could fight. Ultimately, Lipeles said this was the best opportunity and his fighter acquiesced.

``Money talks,'' Carlos Hernandez said.

It sure does. These fighters aren't fooling around.

Lipeles hired ubiquitous Emanuel Steward to handle his fighter for the bout. Steward says he plans to add to Hernandez's repertoire but expect the same as usual from the challenger: He's a hungry brawler who'll be all over the champion from start to finish.

Meanwhile, Genaro Hernandez, 31, won't be lacking for motivation.

In the twilight of his career, he hopes to secure a few big paydays before he's through. Among opponents he'd like to get into the ring: IBF junior lightweight champ Arturo Gatti, who knocked out Gabriel Ruelas on Oct. 4.

And, naturally, Carlos Hernandez - friend or no friend - stands in his way.

``I look at it this way,'' Genaro Hernandez said. ``He's trying to steal something away from my little girl (5-year-old Amanda). And no one takes anything from my little girl.''

The fight is being billed as: ``Hernandez vs. Hernandez, It's Not a Divorce.'' Let's hope not.

Ruelas kicking himself: Gabriel Ruelas is surprisingly upbeat about his loss to Gatti. Everyone who sees him says the same thing: A hell of a fight, a hell of a performance.

It's almost as if he won, he said. However, he didn't. And the way he lost continues to eat at him.

``I'm mad at myself,'' said Ruelas, who was stopped in the fifth round by a devastating left hook. ``I know exactly what happened. I did something I've never done before: I got overconfident.

``I thought he just couldn't hurt me, I felt it was my fight. I guess he made me mad by boxing me, by sticking that jab. He wasn't supposed to do that. He was supposed to slug it out. It made me mad, it made me want to fight him.

``Now, I'm mad at myself. I should've been more careful.''

Ruelas accomplished at least two things.

One, he seemed to show that he is over the death of Jimmy Garcia, who died after he took a beating from Ruelas in 1995. And, two, he proved he's not finished as a title contender.

He'd like to get a rematch with Gatti, which seems unlikely. Regardless, he isn't going anywhere just yet.

``If I would've lost a different way, if I would've gotten beat up, I would've thought about hanging 'em up,'' he said. ``. . . I think I proved a lot, though, to everyone and to myself. I knew I could still fight. I just needed to see it for myself. This just pushes me harder to want to do it. I'm excited.''

More Ruelas: Although the fight was even on two cards, with Gatti ahead by two points on the third, Gatti outpunched Ruelas, according to computer stats.

Gatti landed 191 of 373 punches, Ruelas 133 of 331. Ruelas had an edge in power punches: He was 127 of 273, Gatti 118-194. Finally, Gatti had a huge advantage in jabs: He was 73 of 179, Ruelas only 6 of 64. . . .

Ruelas dismissed a quote attributed to him - ``I saw a flash,'' a reference to seeing Garcia in the ring - as an apparent misunderstanding.

He doesn't remember saying it at all. If he did, he said, it must have been in reference to his 1995 fight with Azumah Nelson, when he said immediately after the bout that he saw Garcia's image in the ring. . . .

Larry Hazzard, head of the New Jersey Athletic Commission, called the Gatti-Ruelas fight, ``One of the those wars that takes years off a fighter's career.'' . . .

Rabbit punches: Don't miss the bout between WBA welterweight champion Ike Quartey and Jose Luis Lopez this Saturday. Neither fighter is well known but both are fearless sluggers. It should be a great fight.

Pernell Whitaker fights Andrei Pestriaev, the winner taking on the winner of the Quartey-Lopez fight. If Whitaker can win both fights, promoter Bob Arum now says he might get a shot at WBC welterweight champ Oscar De La Hoya. Apparently, Whitaker's name recognition translates into more dollars than Arum can resist. . . .

A tentative fight between De La Hoya and Patrick Charpentier in Japan is off, Arum said. After a December bout with Wilfredo Rivera, De La Hoya will fight Terry Norris and then possibly Whitaker, Arum said.

COMING UP

Tuesday: On USA, Kenny Keene faces James Toney in a 12-round cruiserweight bout in Boise, Idaho. Also, Floyd Mayweather takes on Felipe Garcia in a 10-round junior lightweight fight.

Friday: On HBO, Ike Quartey defends his WBA welterweight title against Jose Luis Lopez in Ledyard, Conn. Also, Pernell Whitaker faces Andrei Pestriaev in a 10-round welterweight matchup.

Oct. 20: At the Forum, Leonardo Mas takes on Larry Dixon in a 10-round welterweight bout.