Rafael Ruelas (53-4, 41) was born in Yerbabuena, Jalisco, Mexico on April 26, 1971. At the age of 17 years on January 17, 1989, he made his professional boxing debut against Marcos Covarrubias, winning the fight via 4-round unanimous decision.
On his 41st career fight at 22 years old, Ruelas became a lightweight world champion on February 19, 1994 after defeating Freddie Pendleton via 12-round unanimous decision to win the IBF title.
Ruelas' last fight was a 10-round split decision win against Hicklet Lau at age 28 on August 8, 1999. He retired with a 1-fight winning streak.
Some of Rafael Ruelas' best fights have been against Rocky Lockridge, Darryl Tyson, Jorge Páez, Steve Cruz, Livingstone Bramble and Roberto Burgos.
Ruelas has 4 losses on his boxing record.
| # | Date | Opponent | Weight | Round | Method | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
57 | Aug 8, 1999 28 years, 3 months 53-4 (41) | Hicklet Lau | 10 | SD | WIN | |
56  | Aug 15, 1998 27 years, 3 months 52-4 (41) | 28 years, 10 months 20-1 (16) | 9 | TKO | LOSS | |
55 | Jun 19, 1998 27 years, 1 months 52-3 (41) | Juan Baldwin | 5 | RTD | WIN | |
54 | Mar 21, 1998 26 years, 10 months 51-3 (40) | Tim Scott | 2 | TKO | WIN | |
53 | Nov 14, 1997 26 years, 6 months 50-3 (39) | Rodney Wilson | 7 | TKO | WIN | |
52 | Jul 19, 1997 26 years, 2 months 49-3 (38) | Mike Griffith | 2 | TKO | WIN | |
51 | Jan 23, 1997 25 years, 8 months 48-3 (37) | Jesus Arce | 2 | TKO | WIN | |
50 | Dec 3, 1996 25 years, 7 months 47-3 (36) | Jaime Balboa | 5 | KO | WIN | |
49  | Aug 23, 1996 25 years, 3 months 46-3 (35) | 35 years, 11 months 38-17-3 (24) | 10 | UD | WIN | |
48 | Jul 10, 1996 25 years, 2 months 45-3 (35) | Mike Walsh | 2 | KO | WIN | |
47 | Apr 30, 1996 25 years 44-3 (34) | Tomas Barrientes | 2 | KO | WIN | |
46 | Oct 7, 1995 24 years, 5 months 43-3 (33) | George Scott | LT | 12 | UD | LOSS |
45  | May 6, 1995 24 years 43-2 (33) | 22 years, 3 months 17-0 (15) | LT | 2 | TKO | LOSS Lost IBF For WBO |
44 | Jan 28, 1995 23 years, 9 months 43-1 (33) | Billy Schwer | LT | 8 | RTD | WIN Defended IBF |
43 | Dec 8, 1994 23 years, 7 months 42-1 (32) | Omar Pacheco | 3 | KO | WIN | |
42 | May 27, 1994 23 years, 1 months 41-1 (31) | Mike Evgen | LT | 3 | TKO | WIN Defended IBF |
41 | Feb 19, 1994 22 years, 9 months 40-1 (30) | Freddie Pendleton | LT | 12 | UD | WIN Won IBF |
40 | Oct 22, 1993 22 years, 5 months 39-1 (30) | Manuel Hernandez | 1 | KO | WIN | |
39 | Aug 19, 1993 22 years, 3 months 38-1 (29) | Conrado Lopez | 1 | KO | WIN | |
38  | Jul 17, 1993 22 years, 2 months 37-1 (28) | 32 years, 9 months 40-5-1 (20) | 10 | UD | WIN | |
37 | Feb 23, 1993 21 years, 9 months 36-1 (28) | Robert Rivera | LT | 3 | TKO | WIN |
36 | Jan 19, 1993 21 years, 8 months 35-1 (27) | Roberto Burgos | LT | 1 | KO | WIN |
35  | Nov 6, 1992 21 years, 6 months 34-1 (26) | 27 years 43-4-4 (29) | LT | 10 | RTD | WIN |
34 | Aug 25, 1992 21 years, 3 months 33-1 (25) | Benny Dominguez | 1 | KO | WIN | |
33 | Jul 7, 1992 21 years, 2 months 32-1 (24) | Mauro Gutierrez | 10 | UD | WIN | |
32 | May 26, 1992 21 years, 1 months 31-1 (24) | Francisco Ortiz | 2 | TKO | WIN | |
31 | Apr 3, 1992 20 years, 11 months 30-1 (23) | Francisco Lopez | 1 | TKO | WIN | |
30  | Jan 30, 1992 20 years, 9 months 29-1 (22) | 33 years 44-7 (36) | 10 | UD | WIN | |
29 | Nov 26, 1991 20 years, 7 months 28-1 (22) | Juan De La Paz | 2 | TKO | WIN | |
28 | Jul 31, 1991 20 years, 3 months 27-1 (21) | Mauro Gutierrez | LT | 2 | KO | LOSS |
27 | Jun 25, 1991 20 years, 1 months 27-0 (21) | Narciso Valenzuela Romo | 10 | UD | WIN | |
26 | May 17, 1991 20 years 26-0 (21) | Fernando Soldadito Teran | 1 | KO | WIN | |
25  | Mar 31, 1991 19 years, 11 months 25-0 (20) | 27 years, 4 months 35-5 (19) | FT | 3 | KO | WIN |
24 | Feb 26, 1991 19 years, 10 months 24-0 (19) | Vicente Gonzalez | 10 | UD | WIN | |
23 | Jan 14, 1991 19 years, 8 months 23-0 (19) | Tomas Valdez | FT | 3 | TKO | WIN |
22 | Nov 27, 1990 19 years, 7 months 22-0 (18) | Richard Abila | FT | 7 | KO | WIN |
21 | Sep 22, 1990 19 years, 4 months 21-0 (17) | Felipe de Jesus | 7 | TKO | WIN | |
20 | Aug 17, 1990 19 years, 3 months 20-0 (16) | Job Walters | 9 | TKO | WIN | |
19 | Jul 31, 1990 19 years, 3 months 19-0 (15) | Rosendo Alonso | 1 | TKO | WIN | |
18 | Jun 18, 1990 19 years, 1 months 18-0 (14) | Abe Gomez | 10 | UD | WIN | |
17 | May 29, 1990 19 years, 1 months 17-0 (14) | Vicente Gonzalez | 5 | RTD | WIN | |
16 | Apr 14, 1990 18 years, 11 months 16-0 (13) | Arturo Hernandez | 1 | TKO | WIN | |
15 | Mar 8, 1990 18 years, 10 months 15-0 (12) | Antonio Sanchez | 2 | KO | WIN | |
14 | Feb 27, 1990 18 years, 10 months 14-0 (11) | Roberto Rios | 2 | TKO | WIN | |
13 | Feb 5, 1990 18 years, 9 months 13-0 (10) | Simon Contreras | 5 | KO | WIN | |
12 | Nov 28, 1989 18 years, 7 months 12-0 (9) | Ricardo Flores | 1 | KO | WIN | |
11 | Oct 24, 1989 18 years, 5 months 11-0 (8) | Margarito Ruiz | 1 | DQ | WIN | |
10 | Sep 26, 1989 18 years, 5 months 10-0 (8) | Jose Luis Vazquez | 1 | KO | WIN | |
9 | Aug 29, 1989 18 years, 4 months 9-0 (7) | Joey Quinlan | 1 | KO | WIN | |
8 | Jul 14, 1989 18 years, 2 months 8-0 (6) | Ben Gomez | 3 | KO | WIN | |
7 | Jun 27, 1989 18 years, 2 months 7-0 (5) | Chilo Guzman | 3 | KO | WIN | |
6 | Jun 16, 1989 18 years, 1 months 6-0 (4) | Benito Rodriguez | 3 | KO | WIN | |
5 | May 30, 1989 18 years, 1 months 5-0 (3) | Javier Lara | 3 | KO | WIN | |
4 | Apr 25, 1989 17 years, 11 months 4-0 (2) | Margarito Arreola | 4 | MD | WIN | |
3 | Mar 28, 1989 17 years, 11 months 3-0 (2) | Leopoldo Maya | 1 | TKO | WIN | |
2 | Feb 14, 1989 17 years, 9 months 2-0 (1) | Robert Rayford | 3 | TKO | WIN | |
1 | Jan 17, 1989 17 years, 8 months 1-0 (0) | Marcos Covarrubias | 4 | UD | WIN |
