04.08 - – In a battle of unbeaten boxers, crowd-pleasing World Boxing Organization/World Boxing Association (WBO/WBA) 130-pound Champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas successfully defended his titles with a unanimous 12-round decision over WBO No. 1 contender Daniel “The Prophet” Attah Saturday on SHOWTIME. In the co-feature, North American Boxing Federation (NABF) Super Middleweight Champion Antwun “Kid Dynamite” Echols retained his title in the International Boxing Federation (IBF) elimination bout with a third-round TKO over Richard “The Alien” Grant. The bouts, which aired at 10 PM ET/PT from the Dodge Theatre, were promoted by Art Pelullo’s Banner Promotions.

Freitas (32-0, 29 KOs), of Salvador, Brazil, won his eighth WBO title defense by the scores of 117-110 on the three judges’ scorecards. The popular boxer-puncher was making his first defense of the WBA crown he captured last Jan. 12 on SHOWTIME when he outpointed previously undefeated Joel Casamayor across 12 rounds. Appearing on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING for the fourth time, Freitas was too quick, too powerful and too busy for the game Attah. Although Freitas did not register a knockdown and had a point taken away for a low blow in the 10th, he dominated throughout by landing numerous combinations to the head and body. Freitas captured the WBO title on Aug. 7, 1999, with a first-round knockout over Anatoly Alexandrov in Cannet, France.

Attah (20-1-1, 1 NC, 8 KOs), of Kalaba, Nigeria, never quit trying and seemed to rock Freitas on a few occasions occasions, but he never could land more than one significant punch at a time. The southpaw, who lives in Philadelphia, represented Nigeria in the 1996 Olympic Games at Atlanta.

Echols (29-4-1, 26 KOs), of Memphis, Tenn., won his fifth consecutive fight. He floored Grant midway through the first round with a series of punches. After two overhand right hands to the head shook and staggered Grant, referee Tony Weeks halted the proceedings 59 seconds into the third round. The hard-hitting, exciting Echols, who retained his NABF title a second time, became the mandatory challenger to IBF 168-pound champion Sven Ottke. Echols entered the ring ranked No. 3 in the IBF.

Grant (14-9, 2 KOs), of Kingston, Jamaica, had a four-fight winning streak end. Grant, who came in ranked 10th by the IBF, had his most success in the second when he connected with several good shots. The 1996 Jamaican Olympian went 22-1 in the amateurs prior to turning pro on May 25, 1996.