Does Acelino Freitas have what it takes to be a champion again? On April 29 at the Foxwoods resort in Connecticut, WBC Lightweight champion Zahir Raheem (27-1, 16 KOs) takes on former world champ Acelino "Popo" Freitas (37-1, 32 KOs).

This is the first fight back for Freitas at the world-class level since losing by TKO to Diego Corrales back in August 2004. Zahir Raheem, heading into this fight, has a lot of momentum behind him since winning the vacant WBC Lightweight title by beating Erik Morales. Raheem's win over Morales was a total dominant boxing lesson.

This is the kind of fight that can make Freitas desperate and be even more aggressive then he already is. Typically Freitas is a fast starter and he always likes to apply pressure by using angles. He has fast hands, good power and he likes to get into exchanges. Freitas knows that with his speed and power he can get his opponents to go toe-to-toe with him and beat them to the punch in their exchanges, usually leading to a knockdown or knockout. That's the kind of fight game that has helped Freitas earn 32 knockouts.

This is a good and exciting match for all of us fight fans. I'm curious to see how Freitas is going to handle a pure boxer. Raheem is slick, and most of Freitas' opponents end up fighting his kind of fight, which makes it easier for Freitas to land punches. Raheem isn't going to abide and play into Freitas strengths.

Raheem is a slick Philly fighter that was fighting at the wrong weight in the first half of his career. He started fighting in the 126 lbs division and 130 lbs division in the first half of his career, wherever he could get the right kind of fight.

Ever since Raheem moved up to Lightweight at 135 lbs, he has looked healthier in the ring and has fought up to his expected potential. I think now all he needs is the chance and the opponents to prove him to be a solid world champ. He cleanly out boxed Erik Morales and he wasn't given a chance to win by anyone. I thought that Morales would have worn him down by the eighth or ninth round and get a KO to win. Wrong! Raheem shocked the world and put on a boxing clinic of how to hit and not get hit. Raheem used every inch of the ring and every angle you could think of when fighting Morales, truly something to watch and admire.

I don't know how this fight is going unfold, to be honest. It can go down as a cat-and-mouse type fight or it can go down as the bull and the matador. Freitas likes to try and establish dominance early in his fights, and Raheem likes to pick his opponents apart piece by piece. I am thinking that if Freitas doesn't know how to cut off the ring and make Raheem stand and fight, we are going to be in for a long night because Raheem is going to move his feet in the ring. Freitas is going to have to go out and look for Raheem where as Raheem is going to know where Freitas is.

I'd like to see Raheem take more of a Pernell Whitaker-style approach in this fight and use more of his standing defensive skills. The bobbing and weaving fighting in a phone booth style that Sweet Pea had, making his opponents miss and making exciting fights in the process. That's what we would all like to see on the 29th, a good 12 round scrap that has tons of give and take.

One thing that has hasn't been said about both fighters is that both of them have decent chins too. I know Freitas has been dropped before and he said "no mas" in his loss to Corrales, but the man has taken some serious punches to the chin and has gotten back up. His heart might be questioned but his chin is pretty solid. Same with Raheem, his chin has held up to some big shots. He took some of Rocky Juarez's best punches and didn't get knocked out. Freitas has one-punch knockout power but will he be able to hit Zahir Raheem cleanly.