Albert Bell handed Abdullah Mason the toughest test of his career in their collision of Ohio natives and former sparring partners, but Mason ultimately closed the show for a successful hometown title defense.
After scoring two knockdowns in the opening 40 seconds of Round 12, Mason (21-0, 18 KOs) controversially stopped Bell (28-1, 9 KOs) to retain his WBO lightweight title for the first time Saturday night at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland. With his victory, Mason, 22, remains the youngest male world champion in boxing.
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It was clear heading into the final frame of a close fight that both men needed to finish strong to give themselves the best chance of victory. At that point, the momentum was firmly in Mason’s favor, and he understood the task at hand.
Mason pounced on Bell as soon as Round 12 began, landing a terrific left hand that rocked Bell and forced him onto the ring ropes, where a combination then sent the challenger to the canvas. Bell rose to his feet and attempted to weather the storm, but another left hand put him right back on the floor.
This time, however, the referee saw no need to take up the count.
It was a controversial stoppage, partly because the fight was considered to be razor-close on the official scorecards, even though momentum was in Mason’s favor and there was no doubt the champion was in complete control in Round 12. Most observers thought Bell deserved every opportunity in Round 12 of a world title fight, and he was denied the chance to end the fight on his feet.
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“Worst stoppage I ever seen,” remarked WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney.
The fight going the full 12 rounds would not have had an impact on the result, though. Uncrowned can reveal that Mason was in a commanding lead on the official scorecards — 106-103, 107-102, 107-102 — at the time of the finish.
Uncrowned’s unofficial card had Mason narrowly edging the bout, 105-104, although some observers did have Bell ahead.
It was a fight of two halves. Bell got the better of the first six rounds, and Mason dominated the second half. In the first portion of the contest, Mason struggled to close the distance on the taller Bell. In low-output rounds, the accuracy and sharpness of Bell, particularly with his right hand, were causing the champ all sorts of problems and allowing Bell to rack up points on the cards.
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Mason was strong-willed, though, and knew that if he kept chipping away at Bell, he would be rewarded sooner or later — and that moment came in Round 7. It was in this session that the fight turned on its head. Mason knocked back Bell’s skull with a thudding left hand and continued to pour pressure on Bell, hoping to ride out his momentum.
In Round 8, Mason got the big breakthrough he was looking for. Bell was forced to hold on after a clean left hand rocked him to his boots. Mason smartly aimed his follow-up attack to the body and had Bell hurt downstairs as well. Mason’s power and pressure were finally getting to Bell in this round, and his attacks clearly affected the challenger.
Mason was able to hurt Bell to the body again in Round 9. Bell appeared unable to recover, and thus, when Mason slowed in Rounds 10 and 11, Bell couldn’t capitalize on it.
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Going into Round 12, Mason knew he may need a stoppage to be sure of victory — and that’s exactly what he produced in just 40 seconds of the final frame.
In the championship rounds, Mason proved why he was indeed the champion.
Saturday was the debut of TNT’s new boxing series — in partnership with DAZN — called “The Fight,” which aims to bolster the exposure of the sport in the U.S. Mason well and truly saved the show, because the opening three bouts of the partnership were entirely underwhelming.
Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (18-0, 10 KOs) retained his WBC featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Rene Palacios (19-1-1, 10 KOs) in a fight that lacked action and thus was heavily booed. Cleveland’s Delante “Tiger” Johnson (18-0, 8 KOs) dominated the majority of his fight with Christopher Guerrero (16-1, 9 KOs) behind his jab to win an uneventful decision, and Deric “Scooter” Davis (12-0, 10 KOs) escaped with a controversial win over Carlos Ramos (18-5-1, 10 KOs).
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Check out complete Mason-vs.-Bell results and highlights below, as well as Uncrowned’s play-by-play of the main card.
Main card
WBO lightweight title: Abdullah Mason def. Albert Bell via 12th-round TKO | Watch finish
WBC featherweight title: Bruce Carrington def. Rene Palacios via unanimous decision (118-110, 117-111, 116-112)
Welterweight: Delante “Tiger” Johnson def. Christopher Guerrero via unanimous decision (100-92, 99-91, 99-91)
Lightweight: Deric “Scooter” Davis def. Carlos Ramos by unanimous decision (77-75, 78-74, 78-74)
Prelims
Super featherweight: Ibrahim Mason def. Erik Hanley via second-round TKO | Watch finish
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Lightweight: Abdurrahman Mason def. Alvaro Huizar Cabral via unanimous decision (40-36 ×3)
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Darshan Desai
Abdullah Mason was up on all of the official scorecards at the time of the stoppage: 106-103, 107-102, 107-102
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Darshan Desai
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Darshan Desai
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Darshan Desai
Three minutes to go. Both guys NEED this round. Huge left hand and a combination follows. DOWN GOES ALBERT BELL! That’s what you do in the championship rounds in a championship fight.
Another left. DOWN again is Bell. And they’re gonna stop it. Mason closes the show!
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Darshan Desai
The championship rounds are coming up. Mason lands a strong left-hand to the body to open Round 11. The momentum is firmly in Mason’s favor. Bell is going to need something spectacular to change that. Bell hasn’t had a good round since Round 6. Left-hand thuds onto Bell’s face while he was backed up in a corner of the ring. Mason, in control, fires back at the body. He is on the front foot, he’s the aggressor, and he is in control. A little bit of activity from Bell now. Mason is also tired but Bell can’t capitalize on it.
10-9 Mason, 105-104 Mason
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Darshan Desai
Mason has taken the first minute of Round 9 off, and it’s giving Bell a little time to recover. Straight right lands for the challenger. Left-hand connects for the champion over the top of Bell’s right. Bell isn’t active enough. Bell is bloodied, tired, and hurt. And it’s Mason’s fight to lose from here.
10-9 Mason, 95-95
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Darshan Desai
Albert Bell was hurt in the body at the end of the second minute. Mason just let his hands go with hooks to both sides, and Bell was noticeably affected. Mason is putting a ton of pressure on the challenger. Bell is doing very little to keep him off. Another big round for Mason!
10-9 Mason, 86-85 Bell
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Darshan Desai
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Darshan Desai
Can Mason continue the momentum he started to build in Round 7?
Mason starts aggressively, looking to land lefts to head and body. NICE left-hand from Mason, and it’s Bell who is forced to hold on. Two minutes to go. Bell eats another left. Mason is putting the pressure on Bell. Bell is covering his body; those punches are hurting him. Left-hand upstairs connects for the champ. A massive turnaround in momentum in these last two rounds. Mason’s power and pressure are finally getting to him. Mason, like a smart fighter, continues to invest downstairs.
10-9 Mason, 77-75 Bell
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Darshan Desai
Into the second half of our WBO lightweight title fight. Some fans, fighters, and pundits have it a shut-out for Albert Bell. Mason needs at least a big second half to win this fight, if not a knockout.
Mason lands two left hands just before the halfway point in Round 7. The second left knocked back Bell’s head. It’s the best punch the champion has landed tonight, and the Cleveland crowd is loving it. Bell recovers, though, and gets back to doing what he does best. He walks Mason onto the right-hand as we enter the final minute. Body shot for Mason and a hook upstairs after it. Now, he’s letting his hands go. The punches aren’t landing clean, but he’s building momentum and mounting pressure.
10-9 Mason, 68-65 Bell
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Darshan Desai
Bell scores with a pair of straight rights. Before that, he landed a combination on the guard and had Mason on the end of a right-hand. Now, Mason connects with a jab. He looks to follow up but just ends up walking onto a right from the challenger. Bell isn’t doing much, but Mason is landing even less. Bell is fighting his fight at his pace, and Mason can’t do anything to stop him. Right-hand downstairs connects to end another good round for Bell.
10-9 Bell, 59-55
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Darshan Desai
DAZN’s Chris Mannix has it a 40-36 shutout for Bell.
Mason jumps into and lands a left hand. Good shot from Albert Bell. Combination scores upstairs. He tries to walk Mason onto a right uppercut – he’s been looking for that counter throughout the fight. Lovely short uppercut. That time, it did land. They trade shots in the final 30 seconds. Mason is trying to keep the pressure on Bell but just ends up walking into punches.
10-9 Bell, 49-46 Bell
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Darshan Desai
Southpaw jab lands for Mason. And now the body shot connects as well. Bell aims right hands upstairs and downstairs. Pair of body shots for Bell. Mason goes back to the midsection. Check hook for the champion. Bell almost walked Mason onto a right uppercut. Mason has got to be careful closing the gap. Bell lands a brilliant right-hand-left-hand-right-hand combination. It was clean, crisp, and effective. They are trading shots to end the fourth. Mason landed a strong left, but Bell got him back downstairs.
10-9 Bell, 39-37 Bell
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Darshan Desai
Bell jumps forward with two right hands. They hit the guard, but the uppercut landed clean after it. Mason misses with a southpaw left-hand. Bell tried to walk Mason onto a right, but that one didn’t connect. Mason lands a left on the body. Mason is falling short with singles and doubles, and he’s not putting together more punches yet. Two good combinations for Bell to end Round 3.
10-9 Bell, 29-28 Bell
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Darshan Desai
Mason continues to fire shots at the body, but Bell walks him onto another counter right-hand. Bell stops Mason from closing the distance with a left hook. Mason is still the aggressor, but he’s struggling to close the gap. And a brilliant right-hand down the middle connected for Bell. Mason partially connected with a short left on the inside. Bell lands a strong left. Mason connects downstairs. Very competitive bout through two rounds.
10-9 Bell, 19-19
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Darshan Desai
Here we go! Can Abdullah Mason produce fireworks on a 4th of July night to forget in the boxing world thus far?
It’s a southpaw-orthodox battle. Mason, the left-hander, is the shorter of the pair as Bell towers over him. Mason lands a one-two downstairs. Bell walks him onto the right now. It’s clear that Bell will be looking to walk Mason onto punches and utilize his reach advantage. Again, Bell connected with the right hand as Mason tried to close the gap. Short uppercut for Bell. Mason is looking for left-hands at the midsection. He continues to aim downstairs. Close round – Bell with a couple of rights vs. Mason’s body work.
10-9 Mason
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Darshan Desai
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Darshan Desai
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Darshan Desai
We are just minutes away from our inaugural TNT “The Fight” main event.
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Darshan Desai
Read the full article here