- 4 weeks ago
Acelino Freitas defends his WBO Jr Lightweight Title against Carlos Rios on Showtime Boxing
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00:00About 90 minutes north of Toronto here in the Canadian province of Ontario.
00:04We are one down, one to go in our world championship doubleheader.
00:08Here in the event center coming up next, our main event undefeated Brazilian knockout specialist,
00:13Asilino Freitas, looks to continue his perfect knockout record against number nine WBO contender,
00:18Carlos Rios, the WBO junior lightweight championship.
00:23Asilino Freitas, as mentioned, the only current world champion with a perfect knockout record.
00:28Freitas grew up in the favelas or shanty towns of Brazil where they often lived into a room.
00:33He emerged to become the third world champion from that country and a beloved star following in the footsteps of Eder Joffrey,
00:40one of the greatest fighters in history, and Miguel de Oliveira.
00:44Tonight he makes his fifth defense of the WBO junior lightweight title.
00:48I work hard.
00:58I fight really hard in this weight class.
01:01I'm a professional in what I do.
01:03I like boxing.
01:05I don't fight because of money.
01:07I fight because I love it.
01:11I just worry about winning.
01:14My only worry always is to win.
01:17I don't worry about the television exposure because I worry about the person in front of me.
01:23I worry about being in the right position and winning.
01:26They always see a great fight, a great show with a brave fighter.
01:31Watch this fight from a boxer that doesn't use any kind of drugs.
01:36Watch this very, very well because the sport is in our minds, in the power, in the physical preparation.
01:43Sport is the open door for our success.
01:45Acelino Freitas, he could be a fighter in the mold of a Julian Jackson, who was a chilling puncher, you recall.
01:55Some liken him to a young Roberto Duran.
01:57Carlos Rios, on the other hand, has been compared to Gene Fulma.
02:00Remember him?
02:01With his awkward headfirst style.
02:03Back here with my partner, Bobby Chez.
02:05What kind of a test is this going to be from Freitas?
02:09Well, Rios has been a tough guy who's gone to distance with the likes of Floyd Mayweather.
02:13And he, Luisito Espinosa, the only one to stop him, stopped him on the cut.
02:17So he's a tough, rugged guy.
02:18The Gene Fulma reference, he's awkward, comes in with his head, burrows in, swings wildly.
02:22But they compared him mostly, Freitas, to his offensive abilities.
02:27No one's compared his defensive abilities to anyone like a Roberto Duran.
02:30I've seen him go down from punches that Roberto Duran in his prime never goes down from.
02:34I've seen his defense be so lacking in areas that if he was a big puncher, he could have some serious problems,
02:39especially the fact that he's gone down.
02:40Now, if his toughness should rise to the level of his offensive abilities,
02:44then we got ourselves a little monster.
02:46Yeah, let's check your keys to victory for this fight.
02:50All right, well, let's start with the champion.
02:52Keep the pressure on.
02:53That's number one for him.
02:54He likes to get the pressure on, keep his opponent on the defensive at all times.
02:58Next, control the pace.
03:00Power when he wants power, rest when he wants to rest.
03:02And also that big right hand.
03:04He has a monster right hand for a little man.
03:06Here on the left, you're going to see him throw a lead right hand against Lemuel Nelson,
03:11and he follows in.
03:12He goes right aggressive, right back with another right hand, a left hook,
03:15and then the right hand, and then just pummels him, literally, into submission.
03:19There's the right hand that staggers him, and that's it.
03:21That's all he needs.
03:22He sees blood.
03:23Now, his counterpart's got his work right out for him.
03:30But what he's going to do to neutralize some of that power and that pressure
03:32is use a sharp jab, stick it in his face.
03:34Also, work his body.
03:36Maybe you tire the puncher out a little bit, and also be offense-minded.
03:40If he keeps his hands in the face of Freitas, Freitas cannot unload his powerful punches.
03:44Here against Mayweather, Mayweather's going to throw the jab,
03:47and Ross is going to slip, go to the body, then try and come up with a hook to the head,
03:50follow.
03:51Forward, forward, forward, he's going to go,
03:54keeping punches in Mayweather's face.
03:56That way Mayweather can't punch him back.
03:58There's the jab.
03:59Goes to the body and up top.
04:00Now, they're not real clean, but because he's so aggressive,
04:04and he's pretty strong, here you see him actually taking the play away from Mayweather.
04:08Because he's so aggressive and offensive-minded,
04:10he cannot get hit because Mayweather's hands are busy.
04:14That's what he's going to need to do if he's going to win tonight.
04:16It was a heroic effort against Mayweather, but no threat to win.
04:20Here's the champion, Ocelino Freitas, really being talked about in the business.
04:23Big star in Brazil, as all the top soccer players there are.
04:27Drew, 50,000 in his first defense.
04:2920 of his 26 knockouts inside three rounds.
04:32He's averaged 2.7 rounds per fight.
04:35But if there is one chink in the armor, it's that he has struggled with the weight problems.
04:40He used to be a lightweight.
04:42The question is, is he the future of the talent-rich 130-pound division,
04:46or will he move back up to 135?
04:48Hopefully, Bobby, that he'll stick around at 130,
04:52because we've got some mammoth unification fights out there
04:55with guys like Mayweather, Corrales, and Casamayor.
04:58Steve, it's one of my favorite divisions, and he's one of the reasons.
05:01But rumor has it, and even Freitas will say,
05:03his hardest foe is in the gym making the weight.
05:06This is the only division where all the champions are undefeated.
05:08He's the only champion who's undefeated all by knockout.
05:11So it would be a terrible shame if he left this division
05:13before we found out who the man is.
05:17The challenger and reigning South American featherweight champ,
05:20Carlos Rios from Argentina, a mountainous test.
05:23Despite his experience, he's really up against it tonight
05:26against one of the world's top young punchers.
05:28His third world title fight, knocked out in sixth by Luisito Espinoza.
05:32He was down three times, lost by decision.
05:35And we told you about the Mayweather fight.
05:37He did last the 12.
05:39All four losses on the road.
05:40The others to Cesar Soto took some tremendous shots.
05:43Robbie Payton, back in March, a split decision.
05:46A very strong guy, also one of those awkward free swingers,
05:50a courageous fighter.
05:52Bobby, his defense, though, is a weakness,
05:54which could be a major factor against such an intense slugger like Freitas.
05:58Anytime you get a hit a lot by people,
06:00especially with someone that likes the power of this guy,
06:03it could be your downfall immediately.
06:05Freitas is a legitimate one-punch KO power type guy.
06:08You cannot stand and trade with him.
06:10He would be better suited to hit, move,
06:12slip, work, tighten up his defense and fire the inside
06:15and test Freitas' chin and see what he has.
06:17And Rios gets hit a lot.
06:19Let's check out the numbers as we go to the tail of the tape.
06:22Freitas, 25, four years younger.
06:24The height nearly even.
06:25Biggest disparity.
06:26Reach, four-and-a-half-inch advantage for Freitas.
06:29At yesterday's weigh-in, Freitas, 130, Rios just under.
06:33More on the weight situation momentarily.
06:34Key WBO rules for this title fight.
06:37There's no standing eight count, no three-knockdown rule.
06:40A fighter cannot be saved by the bell in any round.
06:42If an accidental headbutt occurs before the end of the fourth,
06:44it's a technical draw.
06:45After the end of four, they go to the scorecards.
06:48Now, the fighters got on the scales a second time at 11 this morning
06:50in accordance with Canadian rules.
06:52They've got to be within eight pounds of each other.
06:54So here are the weights from the first and second weigh-ins,
06:58plus from just before the fight tonight.
07:00This couldn't have been fun for Freitas.
07:04Look at the Freitas, now eight pounds more than he was yesterday.
07:08Rios, 10 pounds more than he was.
07:11So here at Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada,
07:14we're getting ready for the main event,
07:16the WBO Junior Lightweight Championship,
07:18Asselino Freitas versus Carlos Rios.
07:21Let's get the official introductions from a ring announcer,
07:23the classy Jimmy Lennon Jr.
07:24Ladies and gentlemen, once again,
07:31we welcome you to Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada.
07:35At this time, we are ready for our featured bout of the evening
07:38brought to you by Frank Warren Sports Network and Banner Promotions
07:41in association with Showtime Championship Boxing and Casino Rama.
07:47This bout coming your way, once again,
07:49is sanctioned by the World Boxing Organization,
07:51the president and supervisors, Francisco Balcarcel,
07:54along with the Ontario Boxing Commission, the commissioner, Ken Hayashi.
07:59Our physicians at ringside, we have Dr. Al Murray, Dr. Laurie Zellig, and Dr. Jason Su.
08:04And introducing to you our three judges scoring this bout from ringside.
08:08From Toronto, Ontario, we have Bernie Cormier.
08:12Also from Toronto, Harry Davis.
08:15And from Warwick, Rhode Island in the United States, Harold Gomes.
08:19Our referee in charge of this bout, the third man in the ring,
08:21he is working in this, his 134th world title bout, Joel Cortez.
08:30All right, fans, here we go with our main event of the evening,
08:3512 rounds of boxing for the WBBO Junior Lightweight Championship of the World.
08:39And now, ladies and gentlemen in attendance and boxing fans joining us around the world,
08:45live from Casino-rama, it's showtime!
08:56Introducing to you first, ladies and gentlemen, on my right,
08:59the challenger fighting out of the blue corner,
09:02entering the ring wearing green trunks with gold trim,
09:05hailing from Santa Fe, Argentina.
09:08He weighed in at already 129 pounds.
09:11His record stands at 49 wins, four losses and two draws,
09:16with 30 wins coming by way of knockout.
09:19Ladies and gentlemen, tonight he is making his third bid at a world title.
09:23Please welcome the WBO number nine ranked junior lightweight contender,
09:27introducing Carlos Rios.
09:31And his opponent across the ring, the defending world champion on my left,
09:40fighting out of the red corner, he is wearing white trunks with black trim,
09:44hailing from Salvador, Brazil.
09:47He weighed in the junior lightweight limit of 130 pounds even.
09:51As boxing's only current world champion with a perfect KO record,
09:55he has 26 wins, no losses, all 26 wins coming by way of knockout.
10:02Tonight he is making the fifth defense of his title.
10:05Here is the explosive and undefeated WBO junior lightweight champion of the world,
10:12introducing Asselino, Popolo Freitas!
10:17Once again, Joe Cortez is our referee in charge.
10:25Now to give instructions, 12 rounds of boxing schedule.
10:30All right, gentlemen, we went over the rules in the dressing room.
10:32I expect a good, clean fight.
10:36I want a clean fight.
10:37When I say break, I want a clean fight.
10:40The trunks are a little high here.
10:45Give me a clean fight, give me good sportsmanlike conduct.
10:48Remember, guys, I'm fair, but I'm firm.
10:50Touch them all.
10:53Joe Cortez working his 134th world title fight.
10:57Asselino Freitas, devastating power.
11:00He throws thunderous left hooks to the body, big right hand, aggressive from the start.
11:05He's looked almost frightening at times.
11:07We're just not thoroughly convinced of the opposition.
11:11Rios, usually a fast starter, like most Argentine fighters, rugged, awkward, brave, and strong.
11:16He's got a steel jaw, maybe a bit more offensive-minded, with more power than his countryman.
11:21Sometimes leads with his head, but he does throw wide, looping punches from wide angles.
11:26That could be a real problem against Freitas, and he rarely ever jabs.
11:31You won't see many jabs from Freitas, either.
11:34Pure power.
11:36Rios likes to brawl.
11:38He likes to punch to the body.
11:39Very experienced.
11:40He's been in there with some tough guys.
11:41Not many people impress him, as far as big-name opposition.
11:45Freitas like to keep that left hand halfway out there, almost like a European-style measuring,
11:49just setting up that big right.
11:50And Bobby, in two of Freitas' last three fights, he's been down in the first round.
11:56Well, you know what?
11:57He got caught by a couple of punches.
11:58One was more of a push and balance shot.
11:59The other one just got caught by a clean shot.
12:01So I wonder about the steel jaw a little bit, at least.
12:05And he jumps right on Rios.
12:07There's no question in the fact that he can punch, though.
12:09He has power.
12:10You can see it.
12:11When he hits men in the side, they move two feet.
12:13Rios has the will and the heart, just not certain he's on the same skill or power level
12:20as Freitas.
12:21Can he make Freitas even respect him?
12:23We'll see.
12:25And another question, how will Freitas do against an awkward, rugged Argentinian like
12:33Rios?
12:33How long will it take for him to get rid of Rios?
12:37A fighter with the style and mindset of Freitas respects nothing except getting hit back
12:42and getting hurt a little bit, getting a little sting.
12:44He won't give you the respect.
12:46You have to earn it.
12:46You have to deliver and land.
12:49Among Rios' four losses, only one was by stoppage.
12:55Rios has been down at least four times.
12:58Freitas has been down, as we mentioned, two times, both in the first round, in two of his
13:04last three.
13:05The stoppage for Rios was against Luisito Espinosa, who was a terrific champion, stopped
13:10him on cuts.
13:11He did drop him.
13:12He got up, but he was cut, and eventually stopped it on the cut.
13:16When Freitas won the title over Anatoly Alexandrov, a first round knockout, he knocked Alexandrov
13:21unconscious for five minutes before they took him to the hospital.
13:26In his second defense, a thriller.
13:28Freitas was down 15 seconds and then scored six knockdowns against Barry Jones, who had never
13:34been down before.
13:35I know some people think this is funny, and I've heard comments from fans when they've
13:39heard my commentary, but one of the things about Freitas that bugs me a little bit is
13:43that he has a perfectly straight nose.
13:44Even the best fighters have faced...
13:46That gets to you, doesn't it?
13:48We've all faced some punchers in the gym, at the very least, and that nose never stays
13:52pristine.
13:54Unlike Rios.
13:55That's the pounded...
13:56Oh, big right uppercut by Freitas, right on the jaw.
14:00And Rios did something real smart.
14:01He moved his head, bottom weave.
14:03He got out of there very, very well.
14:04That's that experience.
14:07Well, Freitas was right.
14:08He told us yesterday he will not wait around for Rios to come to him.
14:12He'll attack from the start, and he has.
14:14It's not important to him to maintain his perfect knockout record.
14:17He just wants to win.
14:19And he likes what he's doing.
14:21Yep.
14:23And he's very aware that Rios often comes in with his head.
14:27But he said he's ready for that.
14:30Looks like there might be a little bit of blood on the face of Rios.
14:32Not surprising.
14:34This sure is on the bridge of the nose and underneath the left thigh.
14:44Our translator is Marco Brandao.
14:47Come back with a speed.
14:55Be careful with the counterattack.
14:58You have to.
14:59Okay.
15:00Very good.
15:02Keep.
15:04Tira.
15:06Give me.
15:08Give me a little bit more.
15:11You see Freitas leaping with that right hand and that left hook.
15:14And then again, the second right hand lands right on the button.
15:18All right.
15:19Second zone.
15:21As he works, Rios back into the corner again, up against the ropes.
15:23There's nowhere to go.
15:24What we do?
15:25Come up the middle.
15:26Perfectly timed, pinpointed right hand.
15:29Uppercut on the nose.
15:30To his credit, Rios got out of there in one piece.
15:33Bobby, you can count the number of punches that connected by Rios on one hand.
15:37That was all Asselino Freitas in the first round from the opening bell.
15:41And he picks up where he left off.
15:43Well, you see Freitas is coming forward with a little more poison, Simon.
15:47Simon came forward in an awkward fashion.
15:49Sometimes his left foot getting in front of his right foot, punching, leaping, bending, jumping in.
15:54At least Freitas, he'll work in behind the jab.
15:56He'll leap in with right hand, but then he'll come back with the hook.
15:58He'll work behind the punches.
15:59Freitas, more polish.
16:05Now Rios is holding on to Freitas.
16:07That might be his best avenue right now.
16:15Nice attempt at an under and over by Rios.
16:17Left hook to the body, right hand over the top.
16:19He looked it far too wide, though.
16:21That's his story, his past looping punches.
16:25But you've got to give him credit for attempting, for taking risks and moving in and trying to punch.
16:29Because he knows what's coming back.
16:32And it's not pretty.
16:33I also noticed Rios there using a jab, a feeler jab.
16:35And as soon as Freitas got into the jab, he ducked it through a right hand to the body,
16:38trying to take a little bit of the body out of Freitas.
16:40See if that doesn't slow him down a little bit.
16:42Smart move.
16:43Didn't work.
16:44Not yet.
16:45Rios said he planned to neutralize Freitas' incredible power with lateral movement and the jab.
16:51He said he aimed to box the first three, four rounds, then fight starting about round five.
16:56If it goes that far, he feels Freitas doesn't have a good chin.
17:00Many big punchers don't have good chins.
17:03And his plan is to just hit Freitas right in the chin.
17:07But how do you get that close?
17:10And now Freitas using a nice jab.
17:13Keep his distance.
17:14There it is.
17:15On the left hook.
17:16There's the right uppercut.
17:17If you allow a puncher like that, with that kind of power, to just sit there at that range,
17:23at his range, and time you, and size you up, and measure you,
17:26you're asking for an awful lot of trouble.
17:29Freitas a very crisp and accurate puncher, too.
17:32Not only powerful, he's real.
17:34Opening up just a bit.
17:36But Freitas doing a great job of eluding.
17:38And he smiles and hammers him with a straight right.
17:41Best offense is a good defense.
17:43Freitas couldn't hit him that much.
17:44Freitas had to sit there and worry about those punches.
17:46Freitas really does enjoy what he's doing.
17:49You can see it in his face.
17:52Why not when you're 26-0, a 26 knockout?
17:55Oh, right uppercut, right on the jaw by Freitas.
17:59But Rios, he's got heart.
18:02Bang's tough.
18:04Very gutsy.
18:09Wild swing and a miss by Rios.
18:11Left eye might be a factor.
18:16You see a big cut over the left eye of Rios,
18:20who was badly cut two fights ago versus Hector Velasquez.
18:23He says, though, it's all healed now.
18:24No problem.
18:25I think he's got more problems now, though, than the left eye.
18:28It's called Marcelino Freitas.
18:29Left uppercut.
18:30Digging shots to the ribs.
18:32Oh, he's just all over the place.
18:35Look at Rios' reaction.
18:36One great right hand there by Rios.
18:39And you know what?
18:39He's got a little attitude.
18:40I like what I just saw.
18:41I do like what I just saw.
18:43I'll kick you back.
18:44I'll help you.
19:02I'll help you.
19:02I'll give you a hand.
19:05He also took the hit, and he didn't like.
19:09He didn't like what he took from you.
19:14Rios here working Freitas on a rope,
19:23trying to get his pound of flesh and let Freitas know,
19:26I'm not here to be taken.
19:27I'm not just an opponent.
19:28I came to win.
19:29He didn't necessarily win the exchange,
19:31but he got some of his pound of flesh.
19:33Got a little respect.
19:34Bobby, a textbook illustration of how to use the ropes
19:37effectively by the champion Freitas,
19:40slipping punches and counterpunching beautifully.
19:44Round three.
19:48Rios' game.
19:50And you do have to love his attitude,
19:52but just not on the same skill level as Freitas.
19:55He doesn't have the power as Freitas.
19:56He may not have the overall skills,
19:57but you know what?
19:58I like his attitude.
19:59I like what I think he has in his work ethic
20:01because he looks like he's come here to do the job,
20:04not just come here for a payday and go home.
20:07Like that.
20:08He's trying.
20:09He's trying to put some punches with bad intentions together
20:11and trying to hit the mark.
20:12Left hook to the body there, right over the top.
20:15He's got the right ideas.
20:16Rios says in the past,
20:18Freitas' opponents weren't real good punchers.
20:23And that's the reason he's just kind of sailed through everybody.
20:25But I tend to disagree.
20:28Well, I may disagree or not disagree.
20:32I'm not sure it's relevant right now,
20:33but I see some punches landing from Rios.
20:35And all of a sudden, Freitas' offensive attitude
20:38a little bit different.
20:39Freitas did like that.
20:50It was holding and hitting
20:51and then hitting on the back of the head by Rios.
20:53And the very capable Joe Cortez in there.
20:57Very reassuring to see a guy like that in the ring
21:00as the third man.
21:02Did a good job last week with Joppy Sarifich
21:05here on Showtime.
21:07I can see what Rios is doing.
21:08He's sitting there and he's waiting.
21:09He's trying to time Freitas,
21:11jumping in with a right hand,
21:12trying to time him with his own to get there first.
21:14It's a dangerous game to play with a man
21:15that punches his biggest, Freitas,
21:17but you never know.
21:18A lot of movement by the champion, Freitas.
21:26Head movement, bobbing and weaving.
21:28Rios right in front of him.
21:29Good target.
21:35Much more competitive,
21:36much better round for Rios.
21:39Yeah, things settling down a little bit,
21:41but it could be the calm before the storm.
21:42Because Freitas can explode,
21:46can erupt like a volcano at any moment.
21:49Whenever you have one punch knockout artist
21:51with that type of power
21:52and that type of explosive ability,
21:54there's always a calm before every storm
21:55because there's always a storm.
21:5920 of his 26 knockouts in three rounds or less.
22:02We're in to round three,
22:02but just for your information,
22:05he has 10 first round knockouts.
22:08Mr. Freitas.
22:09See the hands up tight for Rios.
22:13He plans on being here a while, Steve.
22:15I don't think we're going to see an early fight.
22:16I don't think we're going to see a knockout
22:17before the fifth or seventh round
22:18if we see one at all.
22:20Well, that's Rios' M.O.
22:23Well, his fights average just 5.7 rounds,
22:26Carlos Rios,
22:27but he's never been in there
22:28with a puncher like Freitas.
22:29Another guy who could use the punch pretty good,
22:41Joe Frazier,
22:42world heavyweight champion
22:43from 70 to 73 on hand tonight.
22:4664 Olympic heavyweight champion,
22:48which is appropriate these days.
22:52Caught Muhammad Ali three times,
22:53won once.
22:54The first one, 71 at the Garden in New York.
22:57The fight of the century, they called it.
22:59Joe Frazier spoke to Joe
23:01with us tonight in the crowd.
23:03March 8, 1971.
23:05The first time I ever fried myself to sleep.
23:07Muhammad Ali got beat.
23:09You watch that as a little kid on TV.
23:10Take it easy.
23:10Take it easy.
23:11Well, yeah, take it easy.
23:15I was set for round four.
23:26Sellout crowd of about 3,500 here
23:32at Casino-rama in Northern Ontario.
23:42Rios' awkward style
23:44in front of Vaseline Ophratis.
23:49Rios, as you can see, he's just a smart player, very experienced.
24:14Trying to stay out of Freitas' range as best he can.
24:24Find little tricks himself to see if he can do something offensively.
24:29He's thinking all the time.
24:32You see, a guy like Freitas fighting a guy like Diego Corrales, I still got to give a heavy,
24:38heavy lead, Corrales, Corrales, because he'll not only stay busier than this, he's got a
24:42long jab, he can box, he can punch, he can take a punch.
24:46There's a lot to be settled in this division.
24:49We saw a very impressive performance by the Cuban defector, Joel Casamayor, now living
24:54in Miami, last week here on Showtime.
24:56Ooh, it was a good right hand by Freitas, that would be a very, very big fight in the Hispanic
25:01community.
25:02Freitas versus Casamayor, that would be over-the-top classic case of boxer versus puncher.
25:07Yep.
25:08Freitas being the puncher, Casamayor a real swift boxer, very slick.
25:14All those guys undefeated, the only such division in boxing at 1.30, the champion.
25:29He approached the final minute of round four, scheduled for 12, with the junior lightweight
25:34title at stake.
25:36The champion in the white trunks, Asilino Freitas, with his fifth defense.
25:45Rios rated number nine, he's 49, four and two, with 30 knockouts.
25:52Rios has Freitas on the rope, but Freitas knows what he's doing on the rope.
26:02Not a good place to be, but he's able to work effectively off the rope.
26:07Rios missing, and then connected.
26:08And Rios is making a point, nice right hand by Rios.
26:11All of a sudden, and then he spun around by the champion.
26:14Rios is making a point here.
26:16He's a tough kid, he's digging to the body, then goes upstairs, and he smacks him around
26:21a little bit.
26:22Pretty impressive display here by Rios towards the end of round four.
26:27Rios is not only getting his pound of flesh, but playing a little bit of a head game, too.
26:30So things are getting interesting here, and Freitas says good job.
26:41Give me your face.
26:56We're going to take a look now, Freitas comes in behind the jab, throws a nice right-handed
26:59right hand right over the jab of Rios.
27:02And then what he does is he follows him all the way back to the ropes, works the body,
27:05works the uppercuts on the inside.
27:08You'll see the right hand come over the jab.
27:09There's the jab, there's the right hand, and he's right on top of him.
27:12Aggressive.
27:13Going to the body, underneath, eventually.
27:15There's the right uppercut.
27:17He's aggressive, always thinking forward, always thinking about dishing out the punishment.
27:24Ended around, it was really pretty nice.
27:26Rios was getting his pound of flesh, as I said.
27:29Not the bigger puncher, but making his punches be counted for something.
27:32Getting himself noticed.
27:35Well, he was sure noticed by the champion who, at the bell,
27:39touched gloves with Rios and was very respectful of him.
27:42He said good job to the challenger out of Santa Fe, Argentina,
27:45a town that has produced several real tough boxing champions.
27:50Good right hand there by Rios, including the great Carlos Monzon and also Juan Koji.
28:02He told you about the concern about the left eye of Carlos Rios from a fight a couple of fights ago.
28:08He's swelling around his left eye, continues to increase.
28:11He's actually got the cut underneath that eye, though.
28:13So for right now, the cut's not a problem.
28:15Boy, slicing white crosses like that will make it a problem.
28:21By Freitas.
28:22Want it?
28:23Yep.
28:24So Freitas is very frustrating right now, because he can't hit Rios clean.
28:29Left-right combination by Freitas.
28:33And Rios wisely takes off the ropes.
28:36There's a beautiful straight cross by Freitas.
28:39You see the knees buckle on Rios.
28:41He was hurt pretty good.
28:42There's another one.
28:43Knees buckled.
28:44That was a razor-sharp punch by Freitas, and Freitas opening up right now.
28:48He steps back and then fires away again.
28:50He's having his way.
28:51He's so quick with that lead right hand, many people underestimate the speed,
28:54and it's in your face all of a sudden.
28:56You're hurt.
28:57He doesn't have an upper attack whatsoever by the challenger.
28:59He has nothing to offer about him.
29:02He has just taken a whipping here in round five.
29:05It is a beating.
29:07Uppercuts, right crosses, everything from Freitas.
29:12Look at that left eye.
29:13He's really beginning to close on Carlos Rios.
29:16Right now, a lot of the steam.
29:18Whatever steam was on, Rios' punches have come off quite a bit.
29:21Freitas throwing close into the wind, showing no respect.
29:24He has so much for the nice job at the end of the last round.
29:31He just jumps on Rios here in round five, and a relentless attack.
29:36Rios trying to offer up something.
29:40Freitas just getting his wind back for the moment, fighting off the ropes.
29:45Rios is connecting with a few of those punches, lefts and rights.
29:50It was almost as if Freitas was letting him do that.
29:53Well, you know what?
29:54You can't punch every minute of the round.
29:56Yeah, he's just trying to get some wind back, and here he goes again.
30:00He got his wind back all right, and then so.
30:05And those are stinging punches by Freitas.
30:09Freitas is not going to the body enough in this sequence.
30:15He's headhunting quite a bit.
30:16I think if he mixed them up, the head and body like Chavez used to do,
30:19it would be more devastating.
30:21You could be the smartest fighter in the world, but after a while,
30:25those punches just begin to accumulate and take their toll,
30:28and it takes all the steam and starch out of you,
30:31and there's nothing you can do about it.
30:33As the very, very low bell sounds to end round five.
30:38He's dead...
30:51He's dead, he hit and doesn't have a gun.
30:55Is everything okay?
30:58I'm going to protect my父kel here, just 터pe my父kel.
31:03It's very hard, very hard, very hard.
31:06Do you have a little bit of inflammation?
31:09Do you see it there or not?
31:11It's the only one, Rios.
31:13The cut is good. How are we? It's good.
31:15A straight right-hand lead which started the problems for Rios.
31:19There it is, right over to James.
31:21See his legs buckle? He almost had to grab Rios from falling.
31:23He's from overhead.
31:25Leads right in with him, and he turns in with his body well.
31:28Bang.
31:30Rios' legs almost came out from under.
31:33Let's go.
31:35And here's Rios, to his credit, trying to figure maybe...
31:38Freitas got a little tired, trying to come back here and hit him.
31:40Got that left hook in.
31:42Rios stunned at the 105 mark of round five.
31:46And again with 30 seconds remaining,
31:48a punishing round for the challenger.
31:53Freitas told us he really wants to make a good impression
31:56on the American television audience
31:58and the Brazilians watching in America.
32:02They're countering straight right-hand by Freitas.
32:07A little too much hair-hunting again, maybe.
32:08A couple straights to the body.
32:09Straight right-hand to the body.
32:10Enough took up underneath.
32:11The rib cage, you never can tell.
32:17the body left took up underneath the ribcage he never can tell
32:27oh it seemed a little south of the border
32:30joe cortez agreed
32:34a little caution to rios
32:39uh who averages just what 2.7 rounds now into round six so uh somewhat of a moral victory
32:50to this point for rios to extend them this deep
33:01fredas has never been past eight he's been into the eighth two times including a deep
33:05break break let's go got a real good feeling he's probably going to see the eighth round today
33:11juan macias and barry jones yeah you're right at this particular rate
33:19of brazil now is in salvador brazil some nice working inside here by rios
33:35under a minute in round six rios flailing break break not even getting close in that exchange
33:45looks over to his corner for a moment could be dangerous against a guy like fredas who punches so
33:49fast he just hit him in the hip he did rios just just hit uh fredas very low
33:57oh rios just walked into a straight right you see that body walks straight into
34:03he just leads with his head and it's so dangerous against a fighter like fredas
34:09who has a great lead right
34:11the punishment really beginning to take its toll on rios moving a little slower just leaning his head
34:21on the left shoulder of freighters looking for a quick respite but this guy won't let you rest
34:31fredas non-stop they keep going at the bell but it's so low you can't hear it
34:36you know what though steve what was going on in the first half of the round is
34:39fredas doing what he wants in the last half of the round rios was chasing him pretty good
34:43good amount of that man last minute
34:55rios trying to get his pound of flesh continually see toward the end of the round he's got
35:10fredas against the ropes and he's doing most of the work or at least trying to
35:15as the beginning part of the round
35:16the round ends strength factor kind of dissipates a little bit for fredas
35:21doesn't have the big power doesn't have the big bombs and that's when rios tries to make his move
35:25kind of interesting but not a winning strategy as of yet bobby halfway through have you given any
35:30rounds to rios no i can't really give him a round steven i really can't but i really want to
35:37i know you like you like what's in his heart i like i like what's in his heart and in his head he's
35:42got a good attitude a lot of guts i like that that doesn't mean he's done enough to win the ring
35:48well momentarily we'll see how the folks at home now he's taken as if things aren't
35:51back enough right rios taking a fight away
35:59a low blow in fraction oh wicked left right out of the gate by fredas it comes so fast he's not a
36:08big jabber uh for power he's not a big jabber regularly he likes to hit big stuff and as
36:13promised here's the online scoring well the uh the fans gave one round of rails round number four
36:18i was going to say probably round number four we had him against the ropes and he worked them over
36:21pretty good there for about 30 seconds but he wasn't effective enough to steal the whole round in my
36:25opinion that's just my opinion that's chauvin round seven
36:33scheduled for 12.
36:38uh
36:52i know it might be a little early to say this is just a
36:55we did past the halfway point but i sense a sort of distance fight here
37:00fredis is slowing down quite a bit in the amount of punishment he's dishing out even the early part of
37:04the rounds which leads me to believe he's saving a little energy for a strong finish that would
37:09certainly be a first for freighters who's never gone past eight
37:12the greatest the third world champion from brazil the first as mentioned earlier
37:18edder joffrey one of the one of the great fighters in history he won world titles at vana weight and
37:24featherweight was first crowned in 1960 the other champion middleweight miguel de aloe vera was crowned in
37:301875 from the beautiful country of brazil
37:37he drew 50 000 fans at a soccer stadium in his hometown of salvador brazil in his first defense
37:46knocked out anthony martinez
37:48his image is his image is on posters television throughout his native country he's really a huge
37:55hero notice who for this entire round has been going backwards the champion he's been on the retreat
38:03still he's probably landed the better shot you get the feeling it's by design though well it's by design
38:07too but i don't think that he can keep the pace right now he doesn't know how to punch the lightning
38:12so right now you gotta save a little energy that's what he's doing trying to catch a break here second
38:17win oh there's a left hand by freighters that got in even the maybe sloppy's not the best usage but
38:27those kinds of punches are getting in by freighters the wild punches look at this exchange but freighters
38:33winning leaders he plays the ropes very well he works the ropes just like you draw it up in a textbook many
38:39many times
38:43uppercut twisting uppercut to the chin by freighters just before the
38:50he's dead he's tired he's really
38:59he's really tired
39:00let me see this yeah open up their mouth here
39:12it's your opportunity
39:13he's a little south of the border action here and the point is taken away
39:35a little wince on the face there afraid us too
39:37there they bang heads incidental no we do it on purpose but heads will bang fighters leap in do you
39:48agree with what they're telling their man carlos rios that uh freitas is out of it he's tired he's not
39:54even in the fight well clearly he's in the fight he's winning the fight but i understand what they're
39:59doing you're trying to pump some incentive and one of the things that freight is being
40:04non-aggressive for the whole last round indicates that he probably is tiring a little bit that he
40:08doesn't have the stamina to keep a fast pace now he blows out the fight that's not to say still
40:13doesn't have that power better boxing skill but there's a difference between providing motivation
40:18and incentive in a fighter's corner and being nonsensible steve i wouldn't go so far as to say that
40:24fighters come on do whatever you can do to motivate them oh my goodness i've seen stranger things than what
40:30i've just seen there i'm sure you have and we will continue to round eight one of the most
40:41incredibly intricate and difficult places to ever imagines inside a fighter's head trust me on this
40:47i do
40:57well i'm sure freighters going in oh there's a pretty good left hand there by rios right
41:01into the body left hook up to the up to the jaw very effective got his attention no knockdowns
41:09thus far the left eye of rios continues to shut my right hand by real wasn't much behind it but he got
41:15his attention had him a little off balance jerked his head back a little bit made it look better than
41:19it was yep because he was even a little bounce when he threw it but the fact he's charging the
41:24punches he says something about real caught him off guard a little bit there once again an awkward
41:28fighter there's a nifty right hand that got through by freighters freighters with the right
41:32upper cut that missed rios continues to be very game he's got the resolve there's no question about
41:37just not on the same power and skill level of mr framers
41:43and mayweather who's a textbooks textbook boxer at this weight sharp hands good combinations good
41:49speed good power couldn't get him out this guy showed a chin he showed the ability to last he
41:54showed condition he showed where it takes to at least go to distance he's just not at that level
42:00cortez also concerned right now about the head of carlos rios he's been coming a little more
42:08closer to the head of fraytis with more regularity
42:14what a left hook by fraytis right on the head
42:20another left hook to the side of the head by fraytis that one not as clean you can hear real say come
42:25come on come on yeah he is one tough argentina
42:32that is the nature of fighters from that country
42:38look at the damaged left eye of carlos rios
42:41go black and blue underneath he's going to win by only two or three points not nothing more than that
43:03there's only four rounds
43:15loud if you lose for lonely too he's tired he's very tired
43:22yeah put a lot of strength in your fight
43:27fraytis leads with that right hand again catching
43:30reels right on the jaw that's been one of his key punches
43:35now we're going to see him work the other side
43:40comes in very very deliberately works up underneath
43:43well they tie up here
43:48bobby i know fighters don't like moral victories they mean buckets announcers like to talk about
43:52stuff like this so i'll just say that for the first time
43:55oscilano freitas goes into the ninth round and it's courtesy of carlos rio and at the very least a moral victory
44:05i couldn't help it you set me up
44:11once again i don't know you know i guess it's just motivational speaking in the corner of carlos rios
44:18well they went from he's no longer in it to it's close it's close and you're going to lose by three or
44:22four points that's a that's a huge that's a pretty good lead at least they're getting a little more realistic
44:31what about the part about
44:33fraytis being tired are they accurate there sure doesn't seem like he's top
44:37big right here you can see him looking for he was looking for the corner somewhere back his hands up
44:43and he's in all kinds of trouble down he goes
44:47for the fifth time in his career
44:49he gets up at five of around
44:55seemed like just a matter of time before that would happen big right hand he got called mini
45:01oh a towel went in they're thrown in the towel and then the referee joe cortez stops the fight
45:07the fight has to be stopped there by the referee although there wasn't much question because of that
45:13blood streaking down the left eye and all kinds of problems for rios yeah i think that was you know
45:19a matter of time he may have lasted another round round and a half but i don't think he had much more
45:23left he was pretty good that right hand really really took the steam out of it and ripped up his
45:28face completely there along the left look at that awful gash underneath the left eye a deep cut
45:33yeah it tore his eye wide open but i think it also hurt quite a bit i've had eyes like that without
45:37the cut that were swollen that bad they're extremely tender and they're painful as can be and uh almost
45:43astonishingly we never saw the ringside physician go over there and check that fight or that eye at any
45:50point between rounds or at any point during the fight sometimes they can do it during the fight
45:54it never really looked bad enough to check from where i was sitting and i'm pretty close to his
45:58corner i could see it a little bit but it never really looked that bad steve well asilino freitas uh
46:05was just a marksman as he targeted that damaged left eye of carlos rios and ultimately picks up
46:13another knockout and maintains his perfect knockout record here's a situation where a guy like carlos rios
46:20who's gone the distance with mayweather was only stopped on a cut by lucito espinosa even though
46:26he's not a big test and he's not a proven commodity it makes another it adds to the statement about
46:33free free test he stopped the guy without it being just a cut that hasn't been stopped so easily by
46:39better men and i think you'll give him credit for stopping a very awkward rugged tough south american
46:45argentinian fighter and none of that but he won every round in doing so i think that says
46:49something to in and of itself his fifth successful defense of the wbo junior lightweight title
46:55remains unbeaten 27 0 27 knockouts carlos rios falls to 49 5 and 2 all five losses on the road
47:08we'll take a look at some of the action there's some pretty good action right here but some action at the
47:13end of the end of the fight better action i like it better we're going to see that right hand now he
47:17lands it where it is he walks into it he comes off the ropes into it does really look at him his legs
47:22on enemies looking for the corner because he's looking for somewhere to lean up and sort of position
47:26himself before he gets hurt and his corner realizes once he goes down this is a tough kid that don't
47:33go down unless you raise her and i really hope that that was ocellino's wife
47:41that right hand that just did everything the eye the legs the body
47:47the attrition factor big here too punishment he caught up with the cumulative effect
47:51so it's a happy birthday for ocellino fritas gives himself a little birthday gift here two days ago
48:01from overhead we're going to see the finish off in the corner he's hurt not all these shots except
48:06that one that was very clean that was hard to see from the other angle that hurt him and the towel
48:12comes flying in the ring the corner knows when to save their man
48:15so fritas turning 25 two days ago says happy birthday myself as he picks up another victory
48:25he told us title unification means more to him than fighting prince nasim hamed let's get the official
48:30call from jimmy lennon jr ladies and gentlemen we have the time of one minute 18 seconds of round
48:38number nine a referee in charge joe cortez recognizes the corner and stops the contest the winner by
48:45way of technical knockout he is still undefeated with a perfect record and still the wbo junior
48:52lightweight champion of the world aselino pompo freitas remains undefeated maintains his perfect
49:05knockout record it's interesting hamed was reportedly offered five million by promoter frank warren who's
49:11here tonight to fight freitas in england six million to meet him in the u.s the word is hamed just
49:16sees freitas is too big to fight freitas did tell us he wants uh mayweather didn't i say something
49:22about corrales same thing he's not coming up he makes fun of tappy for not coming up to him i don't
49:27like that all right well larry michael is standing by let's go up to larry right now in the ring larry
49:34congratulations popo happy birthday was this a tougher fight than you expected
49:54it was a new experience for me uh he's a fighter hat that can catch a lot he can take the punches very
50:00hard do you have any question during that fight whether you would knock him out and the streak
50:05might be broken i fight to win it doesn't matter if it's for by ko or by points certainly is an exciting
50:23you're exciting fighter what is next for you we hear casa mayor might be next on your agenda what are your
50:28thoughts quem você acha que vai lutar vai ser sua próxima luta os três campeões oh he wants to fight
50:36the three champions all at once all in the same night huh all in the same one minute by each could
50:46you do that at your weight can you keep the weight and be able to take on all three of those champions
50:51because we know you have a hard time making the weight você consegue manter seu peso e pra poder lutar
50:55contra esses três campeões agora sim agora estou conseguindo tenho consciência sou profissional no que
51:00faço e quando eu peso deu peso na balança quando subo no ringue sou daà eu i'm a professional i
51:08try to keep my weight i will try to uh to keep it under control do you think any of those three champions
51:14can stand up to your punching power you can stand up to your punching power you can do
51:17uh qualquer um dos três consegue aguenta a force of the so so so no i don't think so i don't know
51:24i even knew that congratulations popo
51:26bring on a seat
51:27what
51:27i would like to dedicate my win to all the olympians brazilian boxers that are uh in the olympics
51:46right now did you come in vitória minha mãe i must feel you get on casa yeah my future casamento
51:51dedicate to my mom and my kids that are at home and everybody back home all right the pride of brazil
51:57popomania invades north america let's go back to steve albert all right larry thanks very much and
52:03in case you folks at home are wondering the word popo where that comes from that's the word freighters
52:08used for milk when he was a little boy all right so popo comes through here in the ninth round against
52:17carlos rios let's see how the folks at home saw it check the online scoring so how do you like this
52:21bobby chezz uh i don't get five four there was one round that i thought rios kind of dominated well
52:28not dominated but kind of took just because he outworked the champion but one round was all i could
52:32muster up for him yeah the folks online thought that rios won the last three so they thought
52:38rios won rounds number four six seven and eight and uh freitas squeaks it out there five to four
52:47we'll try to get you the official scorecards from the judges here uh squeaked it out by ko though yeah
52:53yeah right we'll try to get you the scores up to that point of course before we leave the air
52:59all right so let's get your final thoughts let's go back to that first fight between uh harry simon and
53:04rodney jones uh harry of course kept telling us in the meeting yesterday that he thought he was
53:09ready right now for felix trinidad but just to reiterate what do you think well i think he just
53:15proved that he's not ready for felix trinidad right now and if he's ready for trend that now
53:18it's for a payday it's not to prove that he can beat him i don't think he showed the skills today
53:22i don't think he showed a lot of different things that he needed to the experience factor against the
53:26likes of what trinidad has faced they're not even comparable and how about uh asalino freitas uh
53:33the the impressive level on your meter from one to ten from one to ten i have to give him a solid
53:39eight i i really believe he he showed me some different things that i was looking for he stopped
53:43the guy was very tough and very difficult his power i knew was there there are other things i was
53:47looking at and again rios didn't hit hard enough to convince me that we have a tough guy here because i
53:52don't know if he's just as tough as he is good because one is the ability to give a whooping the
53:55other is the ability to take it but yeah you had no uh argument with the uh the stops of course the
54:00corner wanted it to be stopped i couldn't argue it either way but no i wouldn't argue that stoppage
54:04i think we all know it was about a matter of moments what about the future for this kid asalino
54:09afraid is deep down in your heart who would you like to see him unify against first any one of the
54:16fighters in this division is just an exciting fight it really is i think that casa mayor is nice
54:21mayweather's nice corrales is a he's one you know he's one of my favorites all right so we'll see
54:26what happens down the road in the future for the hard punching young man from brazil who just turned 25
54:32two days ago asalino uh freitas all right now coming up in october we'll bring you the rematch of 1999's
54:39fight of the year as well as the biggest attraction in boxing we want to remind you that two weeks from
54:44tonight johnny tapia tries to avenge his only loss suffered at the hands of paulie ayala that's saturday
54:50october the 7th at 10 p.m eastern and pacific tapia versus ayala it's a battle you won't want to miss
54:56we just received word that it's going to be a 12 round fight not a 10 round fight for something called
55:00the iba championship but as we mentioned earlier uh who cares really how long the fight is whether
55:06it's 10 rounds or 12 rounds it has all the elements all the ingredients of a great fight based on
55:11that first fight which was just tremendous it was indeed the fight of the year for 1999. so that's
55:17going to be johnny tapia versus paulie ayala coming up in the mgm grand on october 7th in the incredible
55:25city of las vegas nevada and then on friday october the 20th sct pay-per-view presents two of the most
55:32feared and compelling fighters in boxing former undisputed world heavyweight champion mike tyson takes
55:37on the enigmatic andrew galata in a long-awaited matchup it'll be tyson versus galata live on pay-per-view
55:43friday october the 20th at 9 p.m eastern and pacific quickly the score
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