It should have been one of the biggest fights of the year. Two undefeated world champions meeting in a Las Vegas ring to unify their titles. But Joel Casamayor, a national hero in Cuba even after his 1996 defection, and Acelino Freitas, a celebrity in Brazil who regularly attracts 50,000 spectators to his title defenses, were unable to fill a small arena on the UNLV campus in a fight broadcast for free by Showtime. This is what happens when both men, one a pound-for-pound list contender, the other one of the pound-for-pound hardest punchers, don't speak English.

Luckily, the punches did this talking on this night. Particularly well-spoken were the power shots of Acelino Freitas, which rattled Casamayor in the early rounds and prevented the WBA champion from establishing a rhythm against his WBO counterpart. Freitas' power was backed up by an impressive 30-0/29 record, and in the opening round, he tried his best to make it 31-0/30. Pushing a heavy right hand into Casamayor's face, Freitas immediately showed that his training had corrected one of his more obvious flaws: looping punches. Casamayor, who likes to start slow, was initially overwhelmed... not only by Freitas' punches, but with the relentless pressure being applied by the Brazilian titlist. Freitas was cutting off the ring with surprising ease, and scoring often with his right fist.

As the opener progressed, Casamayor began rolling with some of Freitas' power shots, but he was not countering. A Freitas uppercut could not be avoided, and after eating the punch, Casamayor left himself open for a Freitas flurry to the body before a bell closed the first stanza. An easy round for Freitas.

Casamayor's laser left hand was missing from the first round, and made only a brief appearance in the second. The Cuban tagged Freitas with a pair of crisp lefts early in the second round, but a hyper-aggressive Freitas answered back with a wild-swinging rebuke. Twice Casamayor made the cardinal mistake of backing straight up from such an assault, and both times Freitas right hands caught him leaning back. After the second right hand, Casamayor briefly rested on the ropes, and a surging Freitas fired a beautiful left hook to the body followed by a heavy right to the head. The head shot drove Casamayor back into a neutral corner, although he escaped before Freitas could land another clean shot. Freitas was not only landing the cleaner shots, but also establishing himself as the bigger, stronger man. When Casamayor finally offered a combination of his own, Freitas showed off a few defensive skills of his own, slipping all four punches with his hands at his sides.

Casamayor had made no secret of his desire to take his time and make the proper adjustments, but he was eating too much leather in the opening rounds. Freitas, following a textbook lesson on how to neutralize a southpaw, continued to launch lead rights in the third round. Several landed immediately, followed by one that landed on Casamayor's right shoulder. Casamayor was in retreat when the punch landed, and it caught him off balance. Falling backwards, Casamayor tried to catch himself on the top rope, but fell to the canvas unhurt. Despite the awkward footwork that contributed to the downing, referee Joe Cortez had no choice but to rule it a knockdown... after all, Casamayor had clearly been knocked down by a punch. Freitas, surging with adrenaline, pounced on Casamayor when he beat the count, battering him with another series of lead rights. Several times, Freitas would double up on the right, and one such occasion busted Casamayor clean and opened a small cut over his left eye. Three rounds in the books, and Freitas had already banked a robust four-point lead.

Casamayor began warming up in round four, finally landing his left hand with authority. But Freitas' energy, output, and power had Casamayor backing up for most of round four. With Freitas controlling the pace, it was extremely difficult for Casamayor to score points of his own. And even when he did, Freitas' large, loud power blasts were the more telling blows of yet another round. Casamayor was dying to establish a pace that would allow him to box, but Freitas was having none of it. Casamayor's frustration began to show through. He twice butted Freitas in a manner that looked less than unintentional, he began pushing his shoulder into Freitas' face during clinches, and thrust his forearm into Freitas' throat during one entanglement. These tactics couldn't reverse a clear 10-9 for Freitas in round four, and did little better in a slower, but still Freitas-dominated fifth.

Freitas finally began to slow in the sixth. Casamayor pumped out his left twice, landing each time. A third left caught Freitas completely off guard and snapped his head and torso back violently. Casamayor calmly followed up with another three well-placed and well-timed lefts, and suddenly the momentum had shifted. Casamayor's retreat ended, and now it was Freitas who was circling and looking for an opening. But Casamayor's enthusiasm got the best of him. Once the men came together into a clinch, and Freitas spun out as Cortez called for a break. Still, Casamayor threw a left at the back of Freitas' head. The punch landed, although not hard. Still, Freitas' legitimate complaint got him a short break while Cortez stiffly warned Casamayor. The fight resumed, but moments later, the men clinched again, this time with Casamayor's head stuck under Freitas' armpit. Reaching under, Freitas tapped Casamayor on the chin to taunt him, and as Cortez came in to separate the men, Casamayor threw a punch at Freitas in retaliation. Cortez hadn't seen the tap that inspired the punch, and so he called time to deduct a point from Casamayor for hitting on the break. The penalty stifled the Casamayor rally. His 10-9 was reduced to 9-9, thus holding Freitas' early lead steady.

Freitas continued to fatigue in round seven, a round in which the pace slowed tremendously. Despite becoming arm weary, Freitas had enough energy to move around the ring. His circling prevented Casamayor from launching any sustained attack, although he did land the occasional straight left. Casamayor won the round, a round that Freitas almost completely took off, but it wasn't particularly impressive. Casamayor's right hook was merely a rumor, not only in this round, but all night. His vaunted jab made only occasional appearances.

Freitas' corner begged him to hit Casamayor, and in the eighth round he reestablished himself by planting his feet in center ring and throwing his entire body into power shots as the men came together. At first, Casamayor countered these heavy blows with his own crisp punches. But as the round wore on, it was Freitas who was doing all the work. Casamayor didn't eat every shot, but he tasted more than he's used to. Freitas repeatedly landed his rights on the side of Casamayor's head, and a string of such punches near the end of round eight made Freitas throw his hands up in victory when the round finally came to an end. A sluggish and frustrated Casamayor stomped back to his corner, fully aware that the fight was slipping away from him.

To Casamayor's credit, he completely turned the tide in round nine. Coming on quickly, Casamayor established his left with a few solid blows. A clash of heads opened a small cut over Freitas' right eye, and while the blood was minimal, the cut seemed to distract him. Casamayor now attacked more freely as Freitas tried again to use the ring to his advantage. As the round wore on, it was clear that Freitas was losing all his steam. Casamayor landed his first solid combination of the night in the round's final minute, and when Freitas appeared too tired to answer back, Casamayor began taunting and toying with him. Finally demonstrating the sharp, accurate punching that had won him his title, Casamayor bloodied Freitas' nose with a blistering left before the bell sent the men back to their corners.

Casamayor appeared to have Freitas where he wanted him: fatigued with three rounds to go. It appeared that Casamayor need only continue to tag his opponent with well-timed lefts and eventually he would go. And for 90 seconds, Casamayor did just that. Freitas looked very tired. His punches now seemed to bounce off Casamayor, and his growing lack of coordination revealed his fatigue. But for some unknown reason, Casamayor suddenly stopped punching. For the final 90 seconds of round ten, Casamayor's output dried up. Freitas replied by smacking Casamayor to the body. When Casamayor didn't respond, Freitas aimed downstairs again. Still no response. Freitas continued to punch to the body, and as Casamayor offered no reply, Freitas' body assault sparked a mini-rally. The round closed with Freitas hammering Casamayor's stomach with a series of shots, enough to win him the round on our card.

The eleventh round was a bore. Without question, both men were saving up for the final frame. Casamayor won the round as a seriously weary Freitas reemerged, bringing into question whether or not he could last the final round.

Casamayor's corner pulled no punches before the final stanza. Casamayor definitely needed a knockdown to keep things close, and his corner insisted on one. Although both men were tired, they met in center ring, both firing punches. Freitas was still looking very tired, but he continued to throw shots. What he lacked in power in the final round, he made up with in determination. He may have even won the first minute of the final round, before Casamayor put it together. Landing a series of clean lefts, Casamayor won the final round, although there was never even a hint that Freitas might go down. Simply put, both men were tired. As the final twenty seconds ticked off, both fighters tried to let it all hang out for one last barrage, but both men tired after a few swings, and both looked relieved when the final bell sounded.

Boxing Chronicle scored the bout 115-111 for Freitas, although a couple of rounds could have swung to Casamayor. Still, the knockdown in round three and the point deduction for hitting on the break looked like too much for Casamayor to overcome. Indeed, these two points made up the difference as all three judges tallied 114-112... for Freitas.

The new WBA and WBO champion was beside himself with elation. He cried and screamed and cheered all at once. Casamayor was less gracious, literally running from the ring back to his dressing room within seconds of the verdict's announcement.

With Floyd Mayweather heading up to 135 and beyond, Acelino Freitas can now be called the best 130 lb. fighter in the world. Of course, Freitas' own struggles with the 130 lb. weight class may send him up to 135 sooner rather than later. And Boxing Chronicle isn't sure they'd pick Freitas over Jesus Chavez, another volume puncher who has shown time and again that he doesn't tire late in a fight. Still, Freitas must be considered "the man" at 130 now. With his good looks, big punches, and international popularity, we should be hearing a lot more from him in the months to come.

For his part, Joel Casamayor's legend was nearly erased in this, his defining bout. Call it an off-night, because Casamayor showed none of the skills that earned him an Olympic Gold Medal and a WBA world title. His defense was minimal, his offense limited to the left, and his own stamina in question when it mattered most, Casamayor will have to regroup mentally before returning to the ring. Casamayor also strains to make 130, and we may see him move to 135 before Freitas does. If he can regain his prior form, he'd still be a serious threat to the likes of the IBF Spadafora-Manfredy showdown. Only time will tell how he will cope with his first professional defeat. If his hasty departure from the ring is any indication, it might not be that easy.

.....Chris Bushnell