Abdullah Mason retained his WBO world lightweight title, as he stopped late-replacement Albert Bell in the final round of their meeting at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland on Saturday.
Mason (21-0, 18 KOs) won the vacant title in November last year, taking an entertaining points win against Sam Noakes, and he was set to face Joe Cordina, only for the Welshman to have to withdraw due to ongoing legal issues. In stepped fellow Ohioan, Bell (28-1, 9 KOs), who was undefeated heading into the contest.
After a close first round that Mason shaded, Bell landed a lovely right hand in round two, and he continued his good work in the third as the champion struggled to close the gap and get into a rhythm.
Mason worked well off his jab in the fourth, but Bell was right in the fight, and they traded in the fifth with the challenger getting the better of the exchanges.
At halfway, it looked like the 33-year-old was well on top, but Mason started to turn the screw, with two left hands finding the mark with authority for the champion in the seventh, and a left hand in round eight forced the Toledo man to hold on.
The tide was turning for the 22-year-old, as a body shot in the ninth hurt Bell, who was tiring going into the championship rounds.
‘Prince’ was now bloodied and battered, and with Mason now in control, the final round saw the conclusion of the bout, with a huge left hand followed by a barrage of punches flooring Bell.
On the resumption, the Cleveland native connected with another left hand that decked Bell, and this time the fight was over.
Carrington defeats Palacio
On the undercard, Bruce Carrington defended his WBC featherweight world title for the first time, as he took a clear points win against Rene Palacios (19-1-1, 10 KOs).
Carrington (18-0, 10 KOs) was made to work hard for his win, but emerged victorious with scores of 118-110, 117-111, 116-112.
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Johnson sees off Guerrero
Welterweight Delante ‘Tiger’ Johnson added the vacant IBF North American and WBC Continental Americas titles to his WBO NABO belt, as he widely outscored Christopher Guerrero (16-1, KO9) over 10 rounds.
Two scores of 99-91 and a third at 100-90 confirmed a comfortable victory for Johnson (18-0, 8 KOs), who called for a clash with WBO welterweight world champion, Devin Haney post-fight.
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Remaining Undercard
In the sole eight-rounder, Deric ‘Scooter’ Davis had to go the distance to get the win in his lightweight contest with Carlos Ramos (18-5-1, 10 KOs).
Two scores of 78-74 and a third at 77-75 gave Davis (12-0, 1 KOs) the nod.
In four-round contests, Abdurrahman Mason (3-0, 2 KOs) won all four rounds at lightweight against Alvaro Huizar Cabral (1-1) and Ibrahim Mason (3-0, 3 KOs) took a second-round win against Erik Hanley (1-3, 1 KO) at super featherweight.
