Acelino "Popo" Freitas, with his Brazilian fans cheering him on, won a split decision over Zahir Raheem in their lightwieght bout at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut last night, winning the WBO title at the same venue where he suffered his only pro loss against Diego Corrales in 2004.

Freitas, 38-1 (32), somewhat redeems himself from the modern day "no mas" he pulled when he quit against Corrales, after being knocked down three times in their fight. The Brazilian native was the aggressor and landed the harder shots against the feather-fisted Raheem, who was content to clinch and hold the heavier-handed slugger all night. Someone should have told Raheem that when it was stated that this fight was "up for grabs," it wasn't meant literally.

Raheem, 27-2 (16), will now have difficulties proving that his win over Erik Morales was more than just an anomaly. While he avoided getting knocked out, he did little to show he could look spectacular against elite, power-punching fighters, which Freitas is and which Morales is not.

Freitas wants to unify the titles by fighting the winner of the fight between Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales in June, the winner of which will receive the Ring belt, the only belt worth recognizing as the pound-for-pound signifier. If Freitas can pull off a victory over either one of those fighters, especially Corrales, he will go a long away in proving his critics wrong. Although his heart was not tested against the passive-aggressive Raheem, the victory was a good start for Freitas.

The path to redemption starts now.