Acelino Freitas, the famous “Popó” was born in a humble family and grew up on the outskirts of Salvador, the nickname “Popó” was given by his mother Zuleica due to the noise that Acelino made when being breastfed as a newborn. His first contact with boxing was at the age of 14, his father Nijalma and his brothers were also boxers.

He began his basic training in Salvador, later, through sponsorship, he went to the US where he would receive special training for international competitions. Where would defend several titles in tournaments in the US, Europe, Brazil and other Latin American countries. He represented Brazil at the 1995 Pan American Games in Mar del Plata, winning the silver medal.

His fight against Daniel Attah in August 2002 had an audience of 91 million viewers on Rede Globo. After retiring, he became a federal deputy for the state of Bahia and, in 2010, not being elected, he got nomination through Mário Negromonte, inheriting the vacancy and being sworn in. As a deputy, he was the author of the law that determined March 26 as the “National Boxing Day” honoring former boxer Éder Jofre, being a reference to his birthday.

He participated in TV shows such as the reality show “Power Couple Brasil” together with his wife Emilene Juarez in 2016, being eliminated in the first edition of the reality. He also participated in the third season of Dancing Brasil in 2018, both programs on RecordTV.

Honors and Achievements

● Silver Medal – Pan American Games in Mar del Plata in 1995.

● World Record – longest knockout streak to reach a world title: 21 total knockouts.

● Three world champion titles by the OMB (World Boxing Organization) and one by the AMB (World Boxing Association) and in two different weight categories ( Super-Featherweight and Lightweight).

● Super World Boxing Champion (honor won after ten belt defenses).

Sources: https://terceirotempo.uol.com.br/que-fim-levou/popo-5351

https://pt.m.wikipedia.org