NORFOLK, Virginia — Abdullah Mason expressed appreciation for the support he received in Keyshawn Davis’ hometown throughout last week and Saturday night.

Now that he has surprisingly headlined a card in a place he feels has become a home away from home, it is time, according to the 21-year-old lightweight contender, for promoter Top Rank to build a card around him where he was raised.

“I feel like Cleveland will show up, they’ll show up big,” the Ohio native told The Ring. “Cleveland has been supporting us since we was young, so we gotta bring it back. I can’t wait to have fun in the city.”

Mason considers Cleveland's East Side his home. He has lived and trained there for most of his life, but he hasn’t fought there since he made his pro debut 3½ years ago.

The talented southpaw has legitimized himself as a top contender since he first fought professionally in November 2021. As his popularity grows, Mason wants to follow a blueprint Bob Arum’s company used to develop two lightweight champions, Davis and Shakur Stevenson, into ticket-sellers in their hometowns.

Stevenson twice attracted crowds in excess of 10,000 to Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, where the WBC lightweight champ has fought four times as a pro.

Davis (13-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) was supposed to top another card at Scope Arena in downtown Norfolk on Saturday night. He, too, helped sell more than 10,000 tickets for the second time in almost seven months, but Davis’ WBO lightweight title defense against Edwin De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs) was canceled Friday night because he came in 4.3 pounds overweight for their 12-round, 135-pound championship clash.

Mason’s fight with Jeremia Nakathila was scheduled as ESPN’s 10-round co-feature. It was elevated to the main event of the network’s doubleheader once Davis-De Los Santos was scrapped.

The heavily favored Mason (19-0, 17 KOs) won by fifth-round technical knockout because Nakathila (26-5, 21 KOs) suffered an obstructive cut on his left eyelid. Nakathila told a ringside physician and referee Chris Flores that he couldn’t see, which led to their bout being stopped one second into the fifth.

Though most of Davis’ fans attended to see him fight and his brothers, junior welterweight Kelvin Davis and welterweight Keon Davis, perform on the undercard, they applauded Mason’s performance and how he conducts himself.

“What I envisioned was a main event in Cleveland, Ohio, for my first main event,” Mason told a group of reporters following his win. “But Norfolk is now, the support has been amazing. Norfolk is now like a second home to me, where I feel like all the people, every time I come out, great crowd. Any time I run into anybody, great supporters. So, that’s what I envisioned, something like this, but in Cleveland. But it was an amazing turnout.”

As much as he wants his own show in Cleveland, Mason also expressed interest in traveling abroad for his next fight if it means getting a shot at the WBO belt Davis lost on the scale.

Mason is the WBO’s No. 2 contender in the lightweight division. The WBO is expected to order Mason to face its No. 1 contender, England’s Sam Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs), for its 135-pound championship next.