THE SHOWDOWN / BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE RUELAS-DE LA HOYA FIGHT : RAFAEL RUELAS : He'll Let His Fists Do the Talking

By CHRIS DUFRESNE

May 5, 1995 12 AM PT

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Rafael Ruelas did not watch Oscar De La Hoya’s nervous appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” earlier this week but said he is not surprised no one from the talk-show circuit has called him.

“I think a lot of things will happen (to me) if I beat him May 6,” Ruelas said. “A lot of things come with the territory. He’s the gold medalist. When I beat him, it will be my turn.”

Twelve of the 13 Ruelas children, including Rafael and Gabriel, will be in Las Vegas for Saturday’s fight. One sister will watch the fight on pay-per-view in Mexico.

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Chris Dufresne

Chris Dufresne was the Los Angeles Times’ national college football/basketball columnist from 1995 to 2015. He also covered skiing at the Winter Olympics and wrote extensively on most sports. He is a multiple national award winner and was named 2011 California Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Assn. A Los Angeles native, he started at The Times in 1976 as a truck loader and literally worked his way up (two floors to be exact).