RELIEVED RUELAS TRIUMPHS\Gabriel all smiles after comeback win.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Daily News Staff Writer

Gabriel Ruelas was the first to admit he didn't look great in a one-sided victory over Julio Cesar Herrera before an estimated 3,500 Wednesday night at the Olympic Auditorium.

Fighting at 143-1/2 pounds, much heavier than anticipated, he was sluggish, threw wild punches and was hit more often than he would have liked.

So why was he all smiles in his dressing room after the fight?

For Ruelas, this was a new beginning after a disastrous 1995, during which he delivered the punches that killed Jimmy Garcia in May and lost his world title to Azumah Nelson in December. After the latter fight, he saw an image of Garcia in the ring, which led many to wonder whether he'd ever be the same.

On Wednesday, he was tickled just to get through a fight.

"I knew I would do a lot better (than the Nelson fight)," said Ruelas, who attributed the poor performance against Nelson to the flu.

"I have to admit, I was preoccupied with how I would feel in the ring mentally. The way the whole thing happened, I didn't want it to happen again.

"I didn't think about Jimmy at all, not until the announcer said I was the winner. I just looked up and said, 'Thank you, God.' And I thanked Jimmy. He'll always be in my life but he has no business in the ring with me."

Suddenly, Ruelas' uncertain future seems bright once again. Afterward, he spoke in animated fashion about his coming bouts.

First, he has another tuneup on April 30. Assuming he wins, he then gets the winner of the June 1 bout between Nelson and James Leija, the fighter Ruelas outpointed to win the WBC 130-pound belt in 1994.

Fully confident of victory in that bout, he announced he wants to face a mystery opponent at 140 pounds.

"There's a fighter out there I do want to fight," he said smiling broadly. "I don't want to say who it is but you all know him. That's one reason I wanted to fight at 140. That's the weight I would fight him at."

Could the fighter be Oscar De La Hoya? Ruelas wouldn't say.

After Wednesday's bout, such a matchup is at least plausible.

One question many people had was whether Ruelas (42-3, with 23 knockouts) would hold back his punches for fear of hurting Herrera (21-3, 19 KOs), a tough, capable fighter from Tijuana.

He didn't.

Ruelas threw wildly, but he threw, which was a big step. In a telling moment, he knocked down Herrera with a left hook in the second round and tried desperately to end it. There was no hesitation.

Afterward, he regretted that he wasn't even more aggressive.

"I should've taken advantage of (the knockdown)," he said. "I felt so strong, I thought I could hurt him again like in the fifth or sixth round. He was tough, though."

Very tough. Herrera, who weighed only 137, was wobbled a few more times in the fight but never again left his feet.

However, he never hurt Ruelas and didn't land enough to impress the judges, who gave Ruelas a lopsided points victory: 99-90, 98-91, 100-89.

In preliminary bouts, Butterbean (Eric Esch) stopped Billy McDonald 1:43 into a four-round heavyweight bout.

However, he wasn't the most popular personality in the arena for once. That would be "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno, who worked Butterbean's corner.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Gabriel Ruelas, right, battles Julie Cesar Herrera at the Olympic. Ruelas was an easy winner despite not fighting his best. David Sprague / Daily News