RUELAS PASSES THE TEST; BOTHA RALLIES TO COME UP WITH A DRAW AGAINST FAVORED BRIGGS.Byline: Daily News Wire Services Gabriel Ruelas Gabriel Ruelas, (born on July 23, 1970 in Yerbabuena, Mexico), was a professional boxer. Ruelas turned pro in 1988 and in 1993 challenged WBC Super Featherweight Title holder Azumah Nelson, losing a close majority decision. used a seventh-round knockdown to win a unanimous decision A Unanimous Decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all 3 judges agree on which fighter won the match. over Miami's Jose ``Cacique'' Rodriguez in a 10-round bout Saturday night in Miami. In his first bout since being stopped in eight rounds by John Brown last October, Ruelas, the former WBC WBC white blood cell; see leukocyte. WBC abbr. white blood cell WBC, n stands for white blood cell. super-featherweight champ, dropped Rodriguez with a left hook to the head late in the seventh. Only the bell saved Rodriguez from a knockout as Ruelas (46-5) followed the knockdown with combinations to the head. Although Ruelas felt his timing was off, two judges had him winning 97-92 and the third scored it 96-93. ``For most of the fight, I couldn't find that second rush that would get me going,'' Ruelas said. ``It was a good first test because he is a capable fighter.'' Rodriguez (11-3) avoided Ruelas' punching range during the early rounds and landed several scoring rights to the head. Ruelas patiently looked for the timely scoring punch and found it with his left hook to the head in the seventh. Early in the eighth, Ruelas landed with rights to the head, causing swelling under Rodriguez's left eye. ``Even when I knocked him down, I knew I didn't have enough to finish him,'' Ruelas said. ``I knew it was going to last 10 rounds.'' A busy weekend for the Ruelas family continues today. Gabriel's brother, Rafael, a former IBF IBF See: International Banking Facility lightweight champion, fights Hicklet Lau in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. . Nothing decided: A tale of two bouts ended up in a majority decision draw between heavyweights Francois Botha Francois Botha, also known as Frans Botha (born September 9, 1968) is a South African boxer, nicknamed the "White Buffalo". Botha has had a relatively distinguished career as a heavyweight boxer, having fought several World Heavyweight Champions including Mike Tyson, and Shannon Briggs Shannon "Brooklyn" Briggs (born December 4, 1971 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American heavyweight boxer and actor, whose career peaked by controversially outpointing George Foreman for the linear heavyweight championship but was decelerated by a loss to Lennox Lewis in 1998. in a 10-round non-title pay-per-view fight in Atlantic City, N.J. Briggs' early control gave way to Botha's rally in the second half of the bout. The fight ended with Botha hammering Briggs relentlessly while Briggs braved an ugly gash above his right eye. Briggs may have saved himself by scoring a sudden eighth-round knockdown late in a round Botha had dominated. Two judges scored it 94-94 and a third had it 95-92 in Botha's favor. The Associated Press scored it 94-94. All three judges awarded Botha a 10-8 round in the 10th. Briggs weighed 230 pounds for the bout at the Trump Taj Mahal. Botha weighed 232. Each will get $400,000 for the fight, which was being televised on pay-per-view Showtime Event Television. Briggs was a 3-1 favorite to beat Botha, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers. Overseas: Little-known Brazilian fighter Acelino Freitas won the WBO WBO World Boxing Organization WBO Western Buddhist Order WBO Wehrbeschwerdeordnung WBO World Bamboo Organization (formerly International Bamboo Association) WBO Won by One (Malibu, California; a cappella group) super-featherweight title with a first-round knockout of champion Anatoly Alexandrov of Russia in Le Cannet, France. The 23-year-old Brazilian caught Alexandrov with an early combination and floored the Russian in the second minute of the bout. Earlier, veteran Italian fighter Stefano Zoff won a split decision over Julien Lorcy to win the WBA WBA West Bromwich Albion (English Soccer Club) WBA World Boxing Association WBA Weekly Benefit Amount WBA Wisconsin Broadcasters Association (Madison, WI) WBA Wireless Broadband Access lightweight title. Two judges gave the fight to Zoff, 117-114 and 116-113. CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO Francois Botha, left, trades punches with Shannon Briggs during their non-title heavyweight bout that ended in a draw. Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press |
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