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There is a Gabby Ruelas interview on Ringside tonight. The reason that I am flagging it up is because I think he's one of the most amazing people I've ever met. Gabriel and his brother Rafael were both World champions, born just over 9 months apart! They grew up very poor in the mountains of Mexico before joining family in the States. After school each day the brothers made money knocking on doors to sell sweets, which is the reason that they learnt English. One of the doors they knocked on was Joe Goosen who had a gym in his garage. Gabby convinced Joe to train the two kids, even though he only worked with pro's. Rafael could have been a lawyer, he sorted out all the forms and paperwork they needed to become American citizens.

They turned pro with Top Rank and fought side by side coming through. Gabby lost his unbeaten record when he damaged his elbow horribly in a fight with Jeff Franklin. He thought he'd never be able to box again and still can't extend the arm anything close to fully straight - effectively shortening the reach of his right hand.

In 1993 with a record of 33-1 he pushed Azumah Nelson to a majority decision in front of 130,000 fans assembled to watch Julio Caesar Chavez in a Mexican bullring. The following year he beat Jesse James Leija, who had just gone on to dethrone Nelson, joining his brother Rafael as a World champion.

Gabriel's second defence ended in tragedy when Jimmy Garcia collapsed after their fight and passed away. On the same bill Rafael was blown away by Oscar De La Hoya. Gabby never really recovered, losing a return with Nelson and then engaging in a self destructive brawl with Arturo Gatti on the Boardwalk.

I'm lucky enough to have met most of my heroes and few have disappointed me. Way back when, it was Arturo I was cheering on, not Gabby. The Ruelas brothers were never among my favourite fighters, until I actually met Gabriel.

ed robinson wrote:There is a Gabby Ruelas interview on Ringside tonight. The reason that I am flagging it up is because I think he's one of the most amazing people I've ever met. Gabriel and his brother Rafael were both World champions, born just over 9 months apart! They grew up very poor in the mountains of Mexico before joining family in the States. After school each day the brothers made money knocking on doors to sell sweets, which is the reason that they learnt English. One of the doors they knocked on was Joe Goosen who had a gym in his garage. Gabby convinced Joe to train the two kids, even though he only worked with pro's. Rafael could have been a lawyer, he sorted out all the forms and paperwork they needed to become American citizens.

They turned pro with Top Rank and fought side by side coming through. Gabby lost his unbeaten record when he damaged his elbow horribly in a fight with Jeff Franklin. He thought he'd never be able to box again and still can't extend the arm anything close to fully straight - effectively shortening the reach of his right hand.

In 1993 with a record of 33-1 he pushed Azumah Nelson to a majority decision in front of 130,000 fans assembled to watch Julio Caesar Chavez in a Mexican bullring. The following year he beat Jesse James Leija, who had just gone on to dethrone Nelson, joining his brother Rafael as a World champion.

Gabriel's second defence ended in tragedy when Jimmy Garcia collapsed after their fight and passed away. On the same bill Rafael was blown away by Oscar De La Hoya. Gabby never really recovered, losing a return with Nelson and then engaging in a self destructive brawl with Arturo Gatti on the Boardwalk.

I'm lucky enough to have met most of my heroes and few have disappointed me. Way back when, it was Arturo I was cheering on, not Gabby. The Ruelas brothers were never among my favourite fighters, until I actually met Gabriel.

Thats a great story,you have to admire people who come from truely impoverished backgrounds and then turn it around and have success

it wasn't really that part of his story that struck me when I met him. It was more how he's coped with everything that happened after the success. The Garcia tragedy affected him so much and his career never recovered but he had no anger or bitterness. He didn't seem to have an ego either, he just seemed full of kindness.

ed robinson wrote:it wasn't really that part of his story that struck me when I met him. It was more how he's coped with everything that happened after the success. The Garcia tragedy affected him so much and his career never recovered but he had no anger or bitterness. He didn't seem to have an ego either, he just seemed full of kindness.

well someone dying at your hands no matter whether it was intentional or not is going to have an impact on your mental state thats for sure unless you're a psychopath!

I may be experiencing deja-vu here but he was mentioned somewhere else recently...did I imagine this?

I remember the Garcia fight and the subsequent fallout, he was never the same after that.

There was some big kerfuffle a while later as fingers were being pointed and questions asked as to how he'd been allowed in the ring with Ruelas after getting such a one-sided thumping from Hernandez and having modest credentials prior to that. I think there was something about his health going into the fight that was hidden...I may be completely wrong, just one of those things that's coming back to me.

King Geedorah wrote:Felt sad for Gabriel. After losing to Nelson he admitted that he kept seeing Garcia's face in the ring that night and he looked a done deal in that one. Credit to him for coming some of the way back but he was never the same.

thats one of those things you wouldnt wish on anybody,i know that it had a big impact on barry mcguigan aswell

King Geedorah wrote:

lefty wrote:

King Geedorah wrote:Felt sad for Gabriel. After losing to Nelson he admitted that he kept seeing Garcia's face in the ring that night and he looked a done deal in that one. Credit to him for coming some of the way back but he was never the same.

thats one of those things you wouldnt wish on anybody,i know that it had a big impact on barry mcguigan aswell

Ironically, Barry admitted to being depressed after his incident. He spoke about it on TV, said he thought deeply and often about it.

Ray Robinson's reaction was considered flippant but on one wants this type of thing to happen. It is part of the sport unfortunately.

Barry also had a brother who commited suicide aswell didnt he?He's been through some tough times thats for sure.

I think that there are some people who are a bit cold emotionally or egocentric who might find it a little easier to deal with something like that. Gabriel seemed like a sensitive soul, warm and empathetic. I think, at the time, it completely broke him but he really did seem to have finally found some peace with it all.

ed robinson wrote:I think that there are some people who are a bit cold emotionally or egocentric who might find it a little easier to deal with something like that. Gabriel seemed like a sensitive soul, warm and empathetic. I think, at the time, it completely broke him but he really did seem to have finally found some peace with it all.

Yeah i agree with that,it all depends on the personality of the person.Mcguigan has always struck me as being quite a sensitive chap who cares about others so i can imagine it had a big affect on him too.

orbtastic wrote:I may be experiencing deja-vu here but he was mentioned somewhere else recently...did I imagine this?.

I came across it recently as I was reading "A Fighter's Heart" by Sam Sheridan, and there's a chapter where he meets Gabriel. Very sad to read.

Yeah, I've never talked to Barry about any of that but he's always struck me as a very family minded person. It's quite strange that you often don't talk to friends or colleagues about things like that. Then if you meet someone to interview them, often someone you've never spoken to before, you ask them questions that their friends might not.

Deserter, is 'A fighter's heart' any good? I've not heard of it but it sounds interesting.

ed robinson wrote:Yeah, I've never talked to Barry about any of that but he's always struck me a very family minded person. It's quite strange that you often don't talk to friends or colleagues about things like that. Then if you meet someone to interview them, often someone you've never spoken to before, you ask them questions that their friends might not.

Deserter, is 'A fighter's heart' any good? I've not heard of it but it sounds interesting.

Well i guess its one of those subjects that unless you're doing it in a professional context you're not going to bring up into the conversation.No sensitive person would ask someone how it feels to kill someone as its just not the done thing.

Richie Wenton said the same thing in his next fight, said that he kept seeing Stone's face.

He was winning then just turned away and spat out the gumshield. Sad to see really, clearly having a major problem on a public stage.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/boxi ... 40306.html

"He was at a loss for words that might explain the decision which might well spell the end of his career. 'I asked myself why I walked away, and I don't know. My mind just wasn't there. I had a lot of things on my mind tonight, a lot on my shoulders.

'I've got to get back in the ring I'm up against the wall now and I've got to get this out of my system. There's nothing else in life for me - I've just got to get it together again. But tonight, for every second of every minute of every round with this man in front of me, what would you be thinking?' And then he buried his head in a blood-smeared white towel and wept."

ed robinson wrote: Deserter, is 'A fighter's heart' any good? I've not heard of it but it sounds interesting.

Ed, it's what I'd term a 'solid read' rather than a classic. Sheridan gets involved with different fighting styles - goes to Thailand for Thai boxing, spends time to Rio learning BJJ and in terms of boxing bases himself in Oakland with Andre Ward and crew. In terms of the latter it's written when Ward was still a novice pro, but provides some interesting insights none the less.
On an entirely separate note (and it's a bit of a long shot!), but does the name Chris Shaw mean anything to you? He's one of my closest friends over here and he went to the same school as you - says he remembers you?

He was a very good boxer, very good jab on him and brought a good right hand after it as well. He gave Nelson a lot of trouble in their first fight (I had it a draw) I feel the second fight was more Nelson figured out his style brilliantly rather than the win over Garcia (though it obvisouly played on his mind.

Hey Alex, Nelson was the rematch King wasn't he! We'll never know if things would have been different if the Garcia fight hadn't happened. Gabby probably doesn't himself and that's actually the kind of thing that drives fighter's a bit mad in retirement - the what if's and regrets.

Deserter, the name doesn't ring a bell but I'd probably recognise him. I went to quite a few schools for one reason or another, do you know which one it was?

That Wenton story is very thought provoking. Before a fight boxers like to talk about facts and thoughts, not emotions. I think they have to bury a lot of their feelings and emotions - they try and be as cold as they can. I'd imagine that could make dealing with serious life issues much tougher in the long run.

ed robinson wrote:Deserter, the name doesn't ring a bell but I'd probably recognise him. I went to quite a few schools for one reason or another, do you know which one it was?.

I don't to be honest fella, but I'll find out.

ed robinson wrote:That Wenton story is very thought provoking. Before a fight boxers like to talk about facts and thoughts, not emotions. I think they have to bury a lot of their feelings and emotions - they try and be as cold as they can. I'd imagine that could make dealing with serious life issues much tougher in the long run.

I find it fascinating - Basically he had no alternative but to fight but didn't really want to. Obviously he fought well on beyond the Swain fight but was never the same. There was a fight a couple after that, it may have been the Belcastro fight, where he fought to me like he wanted to punish himself and seemed to be struggling in there but yet couldn't quit. It takes some mental resolve, I'll say that.

Wow, great piece, Ed.

His story encapsulates the good and bad of the sport, for sure.

By the way, I'm really enjoying Ringside.

Next week - Michael Watson, Paul Ingle and Spencer Oliver - great idea. I suspect Ingle won't be an easy watch, poor lad.

Really enjoyed tonights ringside,inspirational stuff from booth and ruelas

I think in many tragic cases people are forced into an inner peace,like with the death of a relative,things that meant alot suddenly don't matter anymore,it's a kind of enlightening to what's really important and what's not and as much as boxing made ruelas that tragic incident probably showed him what's most important and it's life and family .

I remember Gabby's fight with Jeff Franklin and it was truly horrible. Franklin snapped his arm on purpose and he was in absolute agony. I can't remember who was doing the commentary but he seemed to sympathise with Franklin because the foul showed a great desire to win.

On the same broadcast was a young Julius Francis. He fought some guy (Don Sargent) who started doing weird martial arts moves but Julius still stopped him though.

I don't think Julius was on that bill. I think he turned up on a Virgil Hill undercard in freezing North Dakota, which some how ended up on TV over here. I vaguely remember him fighting some former martial artist who reverted to type under pressure and did a full 360 back strike! Frank Maloney was involved in the show and also got young Darren Fifield on the card plus his big American hope Robbie Allen. Mick Williamson told me it was completely in the back of beyond, ice cold and boring as hell.

ed robinson wrote:I don't think Julius was on that bill. I think he turned up on a Virgil Hill undercard in freezing North Dakota, which some how ended up on TV over here. I vaguely remember him fighting some former martial artist who reverted to type under pressure and did a full 360 back strike! Frank Maloney was involved in the show and also got young Darren Fifield on the card plus his big American hope Robbie Allen. Mick Williamson told me it was completely in the back of beyond, ice cold and boring as hell.

Yeah - you're right Ed, Julius wasn't on the same bill but his fight somehow ended up on the same broadcast. Glad someone else remembers that weird martial arts guy - otherwise I'd start to think I'd dreamt it!

Greg Goossen took the Ruelas brothers to an amateur show in Ventura, California, in the 1980s and approached one of the white suits and asked, "Where's the fighters' dressing room?"
"You mean the boxers' dressing room, they are boxers, not fighters," said the official, arrogantly.
Goossen broke into a grin, "Well I've got two FIGHTERS here and if your boxers can't fight, they are in big trouble!" Both Ruelas boys won by stoppage.