The WBO lightweight world champion turned the fight around after a difficult start and stopped Albert Bell in the twelfth round to successfully defend his title for the first time.
WBO lightweight world champion Abdullah Mason secured a late TKO victory over Albert Bell on Saturday night at the Holstein Center in Cleveland.
Mason (21-0, 18 KOs) successfully defended his WBO world title for the first time, stopping Bell (28-1, 9 KOs) in the twelfth and final round. For Bell, it was the first loss of his professional career. The official time of the stoppage was 0:45 minutes into the final round.
Mason struggled greatly in the first half of the World Championship bout. Bell appeared to be leading on the judges’ scorecards and dictated the pace of the fight for long stretches. But in the second half of the fight, Mason turned the tide, sending Bell to the canvas twice before referee Mark Nelson stopped the fight.
“I feel great,” Mason said in a post-fight interview with DAZN. “First of all, I want to thank my brother Albert for stepping into the ring with me. Huge respect to him. We had a game plan. I wanted to stop him with body shots, but I knew I was trailing on the scorecards. That’s why I switched to targeting his head—and that’s how I stopped him.”
For someone who stepped in at the last minute, that was a great performance on my part. He’s a tough opponent. He makes very few mistakes and uses his reach very well. That’s why I knew it would be a tough fight. I had to stay patient. I’m looking for a challenge—anyone who wants to step into the ring with me, I’ll face them and deliver the fight.”