Ruelas Brothers to Fight for Titles at Country Club

Gabriel and Rafael Ruelas of Arleta, two of the top boxing prospects in Southern California, will continue their introduction to the rest of the country Tuesday night when they fight at the Country Club in Reseda in bouts scheduled to be televised by the USA cable network.

Gabriel, 23-1 with 13 knockouts, fights for the third time since a one-year injury layoff when he takes on Aaron Lopez, 24-6-2 with 14 knockouts, in one of the scheduled 12-round bouts. The fight is for the North American Boxing Federation junior lightweight championship.

Rafael, 27-0 with 22 knockouts and already the holder of the NABF featherweight title, moves up to the 135-pound lightweight division to battle veteran Mauro Gutierrez, 44-14-5 with 27 knockouts, in the other scheduled 12-round bout. That fight is for the vacant World Boxing Council continental title.

Gabriel was unbeaten in April of 1990 when he went up against Jeff Franklin in Las Vegas. In that bout, Gabriel suffered a fractured bone in his elbow, a bone later determined to have been slightly cracked during training. The fight, stopped in the seventh round when the bone broke cleanly, is the only blemish on his record. He returned to the ring June 1 after two operations on the elbow.

Also scheduled to fight on the card is heavyweight Rocky Pepeli of Burbank. Pepeli is 10-3-1 with nine knockouts but was knocked out in his most recent bout. He will fight Ashad Prince, 9-2 with seven knockouts, of Beverly Hills. Middleweight Joey DeGrandis of North Hollywood, 9-1 with four knockouts, will fight Monroe Brooks Jr., who will be making his fourth pro outing.

The card is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.