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Acelino Freitas (born September 21, 1975), is a
native of Bahia, Brazil, who is a boxing|boxer and
a former world junior lightweight and lightweight
champion. 

His nickname is Popó. That nickname was given to
him by his mother, after the sound that babies
make while drinking milk.

Freitas had a difficult childhood, often sleeping
in a sandy floor at his house. Since early in his
life, he dreamed of a better place to live for his
family. A skilled Association football|soccer
player, he was more inclined, however, towards the
sport of Boxing|boxing since an early age.
Brazil's Eder Jofre, who is generally recognized
as the greatest world champion to come out of that
country, was one of Freitas' childhood heroes.

Freitas turned into a professional boxer on July
14, 1995, against Adriano Jose Soares. With his
win by knockout in the first round that night,
Freitas set off a streak of 29 knockout wins in a
row, which places as one of the longest knockout
wins streak in boxing history. His first 10 wins
were against low level competition, but for fight
number 11, he took on the much more experienced
Edwin Vazquez, knocking him out in the seventh
round. 

Between 1997 and 1998, Freitas won four more
fights and then took on Francisco Tomas Da Cruz, a
former world title challenger of Julio Cesar
Chavez. Freitas handled Da Cruz with a knockout in
two rounds and then added three more knockout wins
before getting his first world title try.

That happened on August 7, 1999, when he
challenged WBO World|world Jr. Lightweight
champion Anatoly Alexandrov. Freitas became a
world champion by knocking Alexandrov out in round
one. Soon after, he signed a contract with Cable
TV giant Showtime, which began to
television|telecast Freitas' fights to the United
States. Freitas then made five defenses of his
world title and one non title bout, all of which
ended in knockout wins. Then, he went to London,
and took only 45 seconds to beat Daniel Alicea (a
former world title challenger of Naseem Hamed) in
another non title affair.

Freitas then beat the former world champion, Al
Kotey, (brother of David Poison Kotey) by a
decision in ten before deciding to sign for a
unification bout with the World Boxing
Association|WBA world champion, Joel Casamayor, a
Cuba|Cuban refugee who resides in Florida. Freitas
dropped Casamayor in round two and went on to add
the WBA belt to the WBO one he already had by
beating Casamayor by a close but unanimous 12
round decision on January 12 of 2002. Next, he
went to Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix, to fight
Nigeria's Daniel Attah, with only the WBO belt on
the line. Freitas kept his world title with a 12
round decision on August 3.

Freitas was able to reach his dream of buying his
family a better place to live: He has become a
national hero in Brazil, one that evokes memories
of the idolatry many Brazilians felt for Freitas'
childhood hero, Jofre. Because of that, he has
become a campaign spokesman of many companies, to
add an extra income to what he already earns from
his world title fights.

He has been able to buy mansions for his family,
and, in addition to that, he built a soccer field
in his own mansion, which allows him to practice
his second favorite sport.

This avid Autograph|autograph signer's fame in
Brazil has reached such proportions, that when he
got married, his wedding was televised live to all
of Brazil, and it broke the all time audience
record for a live event in Brazil,

Freitas retained the title in Chicago,
Illinois|Chicago with a fourth round knockout of
Juan Carlos Ramirez. Then, on August 9, 2003, he
and Jorge Barrios engaged in what Showtime
commentator Steve Albert called a candidate for
fight of the year. Freitas was floored in rounds
eight and eleven, but retaliated with a knockdown
of his own towards the end of the eleventh, and
ended up retaining the title by knockout in round
twelve.

Freitas' personal life took a downturn that year,
however, when he divorced the girl that he married
on that televised wedding. Their divorce was very
public in Brazil.

Freitas began 2004 by winning a 12 round unanimous
decision over Arthur Grigorian on January 4, to
become the WBO's world Lightweight champion.

On February 1 of that year, the WBA announced it
had named Freitas their 2003 fighter of the year.

On August 7, Freitas lost for the first time,
losing his WBO world Lightweight title to Diego
Corrales by a tenth round knockout in Connecticut.
Freitas quit the fight in that round after taking
a severe beating, and has been scorned in the
boxing community because of it.

His record currently consists of 37 wins, 1 loss
and 32 wins by knockout.