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Abdullah Mason Stops Albert Bell
To Defend Lightweight Crown
Abdullah Mason (21-0, 18 KOs) defended his WBO lightweight
world title against Toledo native Albert Bell (28-1, 9 KOs)
with a 12th-round TKO Saturday evening in front of a
hometown crowd of 10,101 at Cleveland State University's
Wolstein Center.
The 22-year-old southpaw started quickly, connecting with
left and right hands to the body, but Bell tempered his
early success with sharp counters. A headbutt in the second
round also caused a cut above Mason’s left eye.
Nevertheless, by the middle rounds, Mason was more
aggressive than ever, landing jabs and straight left hands
before launching a sustained body attack in the ninth.
In the final round, Mason sprinted toward Bell to finish
him, scoring a knockdown. Bell recovered, but another
knockdown forced referee Marc Nelson to halt the fight at
:45 of the 12th round.
Mason said, "I feel great. We had a game plan. We were going
to work the body. Then they told me I was behind on the
cards, so I stepped it up and finished the fight.”
“He’s a great opponent. I knew it was going to be a great
fight. I just had to take my time.”
“I want to thank him for stepping in. And thank you,
Cleveland.”
Shu Shu Makes First Defense of Title
Brooklyn, New York’s fighting pride Bruce “Shu Shu”
Carrington (18-0, 10 KOs) defended his WBC featherweight
world title with a unanimous decision victory over Mexican
contender Rene Palacios (19-1-1, 10 KOs).
Carrington began the fight from a shoulder-roll stance,
throwing quick shots before circling the ring and continuing
to let his hands go. Palacios sought to box with Carrington,
mixing aggression with well-placed shots to land short left
hands and right hooks around Carrington’s guard.
Ultimately, Carrington’s quicker reflexes and hand speed
allowed him to outland Palacios in nearly every exchange,
though the Mexican southpaw had his moments, including a
body shot in the 11th round that hurt Carrington.
Nevertheless, the champion maintained his composure, relying
on his footwork and counterpunching to regain control in the
final round.
Carrington won with scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 118-110.
Carrington said, “These are the fights that I have been
wanting. There were some tough moments, including the body
shot. But it’s part of the game.”
“Body shots are the worst, but I had to fight on. I have
that warrior mentality.”
“I want to unify. I want to fight the best of the division.
And that’s whoever the champions are.”
Tiger Dominates in Homecoming
Cleveland native and welterweight contender Tiger Johnson
(18-0, 8 KOs) used a disciplined jab to control Christopher
Guerrero (16-1, 9 KOs) en route to a 10-round unanimous
decision.
Johnson established his jab from the opening bell, mixing in
right hands and counter hooks. Guerrero had difficulty
closing the distance, but was able to land right hands in
the fifth.
The U.S. Olympian regained control by the following round,
exchanging at close range to land combinations before
cruising down the stretch. Johnson won by scores of 100-90
and 99-91 2x.
“Thank you to Cleveland for coming out,” said Tiger. “I
hadn’t fought here in 10 years. It was a very hard camp. It
means everything to fight here. A lot of people don’t know
where I come from. I had to overcome a lot of adversity.”
“Tell Devin Haney to come see me.”
Lightweight: Unbeaten standout Scooter Davis (12-0, 10 KOs)
earned a workmanlike eight-round unanimous decision against
Carlos Ramos (18-5-1, 10 KOs). Scores: 77-75 and 78-74 2x.
Super Featherweight: Ibrahim Mason (3-0, 3 KOs) scored a
second-round TKO against Erik Hanley (1-3, 1 KO). Time of
stoppage: 1:59.
Lightweight: Abdurraham Mason (3-0, 2 KOs) defeated Alvaro
Huizar Cabral (1-1) via four-round unanimous decision.
Scores: 40-36 3x.
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