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 The “Old” Freitas Gets his KO in Showcase Bout
 by Thomas Gerbasi (March 15, 2003)
Photo © Tom Casino
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One way or another, WBA / WBO junior lightweight champion Acelino Freitas was going to get a knockout tonight at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. And regardless of the fact that his opponent, Juan Carlos Ramirez, was a blown-up featherweight, ‘Popo’ did recapture some of the reckless abandon that endeared him to boxing fans when he dispatched of ‘Ranchero’ at 19 seconds of round four.
Dedicating the bout to his deceased father, Freitas (33-0, 30 KOs), who had not scored a knockout in his last three bouts, was intent on taking care of business from the opening bell as he stalked Ramirez, who quickly popped into defensive mode and avoided the champion’s bombs for the most part. Freitas was able to land a solid right with under a minute left, but ‘Ranchero’ absorbed it well.
Fighting a bit more confidently as the second opened, Ramirez (29-5, 12 KOs) picked up his offensive pace, but Freitas kept moving forward, mixing lead rights with bodywork aimed at slowing down the Juarez native.
Midway through the second, Ramirez was jarred by a right hand, but swung back wildly. In the ensuing exchange, Freitas lost his footing and went down, a slip called a knockdown by referee Gino Rodriguez, whose control of the bout would get looser as the seconds passed.
Freitas stormed out of his corner in the third, hurt Ramirez briefly, and flung him to the floor. Once again, Rodriguez erroneously called a knockdown. Ramirez rose instantly and then the fun began, with both men swinging for the fences, but only Freitas landing anything of consequence. All the while Rodriguez made his presence felt with warnings for headbutts (Ramirez) and low blows (Freitas).
With 30 seconds left in the third, Freitas finally landed a clean right hook and Ramirez went down. The rugged Mexican rose, but was in deep trouble from a follow-up barrage as the bell rang.
As the fourth round began, one of Ramirez’ cornermen remained in the ring. As Rodriguez tried to physically remove him (all without calling time), Freitas and Ramirez decided to keep fighting. A couple more bombs landed for ‘Popo’, and by this time Rodriguez was back, halting the bout and giving Freitas his much needed confidence boost, and giving the fans a glimpse of what used to be from the Brazilian bomber.
The question is, can he still dispatch of foes in this manner when the level of competition is raised? It should be fun to find out.
With super middleweight contender Antwun Echols off the Showtime card, unbeaten cruiserweights Michael Simms and Felix Cora took advantage of their moment in the spotlight with an entertaining ten round stalemate.
Scores were 96-94 Simms, 96-94 Cora, and 95-95.
Fighting at a torrid pace for much of the bout, Cora’s forward motion and busy style was in perfect contrast to Simms’ laid back but heavier punching approach. Neither man was seriously hurt in the bout, and there were no knockdowns.
Simms, who holds two amateur victories over Cora, sees his record go to 12-0-1 with 10 KOs. Cora’s record holds at 10-0-1 with 5 KOs.
E-Mail Thomas Gerbasi at tgerbasi@mindspring.com
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