The hottest young prospect to come out of Brazil since the great “Popo” will make his initial showcased appearance on a major U.S. fight card on Saturday night, October 29, in Atlantic City.
Middleweight knockout artist, Michael ‘The Brazilian Rocky’ Oliveira (15-0, 12 KOs) will take on Colombia’s own knockout king, Milton Nunez (23-3-1, 21 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round featured attraction on the undercard of the Super Six World Boxing Classic Tournament Final between WBA Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward and WBC Champion Carl Froch. The Oliveira-Nunez bout will be promoted in association with MO Productions.
In making the announcement, promoter Dan Goossen said that “Michael Oliveira is well on his way to stardom, following in the footsteps of Brazilian superstar and former World Junior Lightweight and Lightweight Champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas. We are delighted to be able to spotlight him on such a significant fight card in a boxing mecca like Atlantic City, underneath two great champions in Andre Ward and Carl Froch.”
For the 21-year old Oliveira – rated #15 by the World Boxing Council — his bout with Nunez will be his fourth contest slated for 10 rounds – and third this year. In his most recent outing, Oliveira knocked out Jose Soto in the sixth round in Sao Paolo back in July to claim the WBC Latino Middleweight Title. Now he looks forward to taking a big step up against a big puncher in Nunez on a grander stage.
“I’m very excited to be fighting in the co-feature on the Ward-Froch card, the final of the Super Six, on Showtime,” Oliveira exclaimed. “It’s an honor for me and a great opportunity to showcase my skills to a much larger audience. Ward and Froch are where I want to be in a few years.”
Oliveira is also looking forward to performing in front of a large contingent of fans from his home country now living in the northeast United States, and putting on a real show for them.
“The largest Brazilian communities in the United States are located in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York,” Oliveira pointed out. “All are within driving distance of Atlantic City, so I expect to have a lot of supporters there, waving the Brazilian flag and singing like they did when Acelino Freitas fought in the states. I’m in the best shape of my life and have learned so much working with my new head trainer, Orlando Cueller. I can’t wait to get in the ring on October 29th.”
