Early 90's flashback - Goosen backed Rafael Ruelas climbs the lightweight rankings

I gotchu.

 

I can tell you I have a memory of his effort the night he won the title. Both Goosen and Ruelas were terrific that night. Freddie Pendlelton was beating the crap out of Ruelas. He knocked Rafael down about 3 times in the first couple of rounds. Looked like an easy night for the Champion Freddie Pendleton. Fast Freddie was good. He could box and he started feeling himself. He was getting real cocky and clowning, sticking out his tongue. Ruelas just dug in and kept punching.

It was a helluva war. I probably can`t tell you who really won the fight because it was very convoluted in the scoring. I do remember the talk Joe Goosen had with Rafael after those tough early rounds. It was something I hope I would be able to tell my kids when their back is to the wall. I`ll never forget Joe Goosen words that night.

 

I saw him fight many times before he won the title, live and on television and I was there the night he won a title. In my opinion, he was a better fighter before he became a champion than he was after. I don't know if he was struggling to make weight but he lost his legs and his style about that time.

His fight with Jorge Paez at the Forum was a good one.

 

They stole the title from Pendelton. He dropped Rafel three times only to have only 2 counted. Pure robbery.

 

That night Pendleton was throwing a rocket of a right hand. Personally I thought that he was going to stop Ruelas early- get him reaching and nail him- and he dropped him twice in the first. If my memory is correct there were two slips/knockdowns later in the fight; I don't think I have watched the fight since I saw it live so I don't know if they were good calls or not.

Given that the referee ruled them slips, my feeling that night was that the fight could have gone either way but that, by closing strong, Ruelas would win. But I believe one of the 'slips' was late- 10th or 11th round- and I thought that sealed it for Freddie until it was called a slip. But, again, I haven't seen the whole fight since I saw it live.

 

Yes, it was but, live, you could hear it ripping through the air like a missile. At least I could, anyway, lol.

 

Freddie had started to taunt Rafael if I remember correctly. He was winning and in control. Sticking out his tongue, dropping his hands, talking etc
Goosen told Rafael Ruelas to answer back by working...keep working when he stick his tongue out. Keep working when he is clowning. Outwork him because the clowning was actually Pendleton's annoyance that Rafa wouldn't quit..

I didn't do Joe Goosen justice but he was right on time and you could see that RR trusted him 100%.

 

Maybe a little too much. I always remember Ruelas first loss to one Mauro Gutierrez. I think it was around the 6th that Gutierrez caught him with a beauty of a combo that dropped Rafael. Well instead of listening to the ref's count, Rafael is looking at Joe Goosen's count outside the ring. The problem with that was Joe was one count behind. Rafael gets up at Joes 9 which was the ref's 10. What a dilemma!