Ruvalcaba bout in Las Vegas canceled

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Steve Yingling, syingling@tahoedailytribune.com
May 9, 2008

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Simon Ruvalcaba's shot at winning his second straight professional boxing match will be delayed.

Ruvalcaba's middleweight bout with Rodrigo Aguiar on Friday night at The Orleans Casino in Las Vegas has been canceled. Aguiar (4-3, 3 KOs) of Torrance, Calif., reportedly bowed out of the fight due to personal problems.

"It's part of the sport, and these last-minute scratches have happened before, but this is the first time I've actually shed tears over a fighter pulling out," said Ruvalcaba, who grew up in South Lake Tahoe. "Just thinking of all the sacrifices I made to be ready the last nine weeks. I only took a few days off after the (Joe) Calabria fight, and I was right back in training. I was ready, and it got to me."

The bout was supposed to reunite Ruvalcaba with former South Lake Tahoe pro fighter/kickboxer Juan Torres, who now is a trainer in Las Vegas. "I was disappointed that it delays the reunion I was gonna have with Juan in the corner. It would've been fitting with everything that happened with the Torres family, whom I consider a part of when I'm around," Ruvalcaba said.

Ruvalcaba (4-9-2) earned a four-round split decision over Calabria in a March bout at The Orleans Casino. It was Ruvalcaba's first win since 2003. He is hopeful of securing a bout before the end of the month, but if not, he plans to return to the ring in July.