Thanks for posting OP. I've always been a Ruelas fan and it's nice to see a bit of a tribute to him. From what I understand, Gabe is struggling in his life a bit and I really hope things turn around for him.
What's going on with Gabe? Side note: His brother, Rafael, showed me some listings when I was looking for a house around 20 years ago.
Funny, showing listings is how I heard about Gabe. Rafael was talking with my sister about listing her home and they chatted a bit. That night my sister, knowing I'm a boxing fan, told me about him. I mentioned to her that his brother Gabriel was also a very good fighter. The next time Rafael came by my sister said I was a fan of both of them. He was talking about Gabe and some substance abuse problems. He also mentioned that Gabe never really got over the death of Jimmy Garcia after their title fight. My sister said Rafael seemed pretty sad when talking about his brother.
Excellent boxer. Gave Azumah Nelson something to think about in their 1st bout. I actually scored that for Ruelas. I knew his cousin years ago. Lived up here in Sacramento. Good dude. I believe Gabriel had a little more talent than his brother at the Sametime Gabe broke his arm and he never got the power back on that hand. Don't remember which. I recall when the brothers came on the scene one of the boxing mags KO or Ring had a feature comparing Rafael to Arguello and Gabe to Duran. Lofty expectations no one could live up. They did alright though both were title holders.
I always felt like Ruelas is slick, fast combination slapper/puncher. Hey, it's not an insult calling him that, combination slappers can look quite smooth and cool at times (like Gavilan and Calzaghe for example). I really don't think he's a banger like how most commentators said he was... I see him as an average to a no power puncher. He really should have fought Gatti the way he fought Leija tho... instead he went to war and trade punches with him. Overall, he's a very good fighter with excellent skills.
