Boxing
Showtime Presents WBA/WBO 130-Pound World Title Fight

13.06 – Press Release - Undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA)/World Boxing Organization (WBO) 130-pound Champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas will defend both of his titles for the third time when he takes on WBO Latin American 130-pound Champion and current WBA No. 3/WBO No. 2 contender, Jorge Rodrigo Barrios, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, Saturday, Aug. 9, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Freitas, who captured the WBA belt with a victory over previously unbeaten Joel Casamayor on SHOWTIME Jan. 12, 2002, will make his third WBA and 10th WBO defense. An undercard bout will be announced shortly. Banner Promotions will promote the card from a location to be determined.

Freitas (33-0, 30 KOs), of Salvador, Brazil, will make his sixth SHOWTIME appearance. In his last outing on March 15, 2003, Freitas retained his titles by scoring a fourth-round TKO over Juan Carlos Ramirez on SHOWTIME from Chicago. The undefeated knockout artist closed out the 2002 campaign on Aug. 3 in Phoenix by registering a 12-round unanimous decision over WBO No. 1 contender Daniel Attah on SHOWTIME. Although he did not register a knockdown, Freitas was too quick, powerful and busy for the challenger and won by the scores 117-110 on the three scorecards. The crowd-pleasing champion had one point taken away for a low blow in the 10th, but still managed to dominate the previously undefeated Nigerian southpaw by landing numerous combinations.

The native Brazilian dealt Casamayor his initial defeat by the scores 114-112 on the scorecards. After connecting with huge bombs during the first half of the fight, Freitas, who was credited with a third-round knockdown, had to withstand a sensational rally to get the nod. Prior to winning every round of a non-title decision over former world champion Alfred Kotey Sept. 29, 2001, on SHOWTIME, Freitas had won 29 straight fights by knockout. A living legend in his homeland, Freitas has won 22 starts inside of three rounds. Nineteen of his opponents have fallen in the first or second stanza.

Freitas, 27, captured the WBO title on Aug. 7, 1999, by scoring a first-round KO over Anatoly Alexandrov in Cannet, France. In his fifth defense, the unbeaten champion registered a ninth-round TKO over Carlos Rios in his SHOWTIME debut on Sept. 23, 2000. Freitas also scored a first-round TKO over Daniel Alicea in a Dec. 16, 2000, non-title bout on SHOWTIME.

Barrios (39-1-1, 29 KOs), of Buenos Aires, Argentina, captured the WBO Latin American 130-pound crown by tallying an 11th-round TKO over Javier Alvarez on Aug. 24, 2002, in Montevideo, Uruguay. Two months later on Oct. 26, 2002, the once-beaten brawler added the vacant Argentine super featherweight title to his resume with a six-round technical win in his hometown over Rios. Unbeaten in his past 26 bouts (25-0-1, 17 KOs), Barrios successfully defended his WBO crown in his 2003 debut by scoring a fourth-round TKO over Orlando Soto on Jan. 31 in Buenos Aires. In his last contest, Barrios, who will celebrate his 27th birthday eight days before taking on Freitas, registered a fourth-round knockout over Fabian Salazar in a non-title bout on April 10, 2003, in Cordoba, Argentina. The hard-hitting Argentinean, who also is ranked No. 4 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 12 by the World Boxing Council (WBC), opened his career with 14 consecutive wins before suffering his lone loss on Dec. 20, 1997, to Cesar Domine.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING’s Steve Albert and Al Bernstein will call the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast is Jay Larkin, with David Dinkins producing and Bob Dunphy directing.

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