Showtime-Boxing-January-3-2004

Showtime Championship Boxing:

Freitas vs. Grigorian

January 3, 2004

Mashantucket, Connecticut

11pm ET/PT

Showtime starts off the new year by presenting a lightweight title bout featuring undefeated WBA / WBO

super featherweight champion Acelino "Popo" Freitas (34-0, 31 KO's), as he moves up in weight to take

on current undefeated WBO lightweight champion Artur Grigorian (36-0, 21 KO's).

Freitas last fight was in August of this year against Jorge Rodrigo Barrios (39-2-1, 29 KO's) that ended in

a 12th round TKO victory for Freitas. Both fighters had gone down twice during the fight and at the time of

the stoppage (50 seconds of the 12th), the judges had it a draw. Freitas captured the WBA Super

featherweight title with a 12 round unanimous decision win over Joel Casamayor back in January of 2002,

and the WBO title back in August of 1999.

Grigorian, nicknamed King Artur, will make his 18th title defense since capturing the title back in April of

1996. His last fight was in January of this year when he won a controversial majority decision over Matt

Zegan (29-1, 16 KO's).

Also on the card will be Jr. middleweight Kassim "The Dream" Ouma (18-1-1, 12 KO's) going up against

Juan Carlos Candelo (27-5-3, 19 KO's).

Ouma's last bout was eighth round TKO win over Carlos Bojorquez in August of 2003.

Candelo lost his IBF Jr. middleweight title shot against "Winky" Wright in March of this year by unanimous

decision. In his only other fight since the loss, he won an eighth round TKO over Julio Garcia in July of this

year.

WBO Lightweight Title Bout

Champion Artur Grigorian (36-0, 21 KO's) vs. Acelino "Popo" Freitas (34-0, 31 KO's)

IBF Jr. Middleweight Title Eliminator

Kassim "The Dream" Ouma (18-1-1, 12 KO's) vs. Juan Carlos Candelo (27-5-3, 19 KO's)

card subject to change

(12/27/03)