Abdullah Mason celebrated his 21st birthday Saturday night far differently than most American males in Las Vegas.

The talented southpaw from Cleveland sent Carlos Ornelas to the canvas once apiece in the second, fourth and sixth rounds and recorded a technical knockout on the Richard Torrez-Guido Vianello undercard at Palms Casino Resort’s Pearl Theater in Las Vegas. Mason improved to 18-0 and recorded his 16th knockout once a ringside physician told referee Raul Caiz Jr. that Ornelas shouldn’t start the seventh round of a lightweight bout scheduled for 10 rounds.

Mexico’s Ornelas (28-5, 15 KOs) hadn’t fought in 15 months. He took this bout on relatively short notice because Mason’s original opponent, Chicago’s Giovanni Cabrera (22-2, 7 KOs), withdrew from their fight because he suffered an eye injury that required surgery.

Ornelas suffered a cut around his right eye when Mason landed a left hand in the sixth round. Another hard left by Mason made Ornelas take a knee for the third time in their bout with exactly one minute on the clock in the sixth round.

Ornelas held his way to the end of the sixth round, but it seemed by then that it would only be a matter of time before Mason knocked him out. He requested an additional round, but the doctor wouldn’t allow it.

Mason remained in control throughout the fourth round. He drilled Ornelas with an overhand left that caused another delayed reaction and made him take a knee with 24 seconds to go in the fourth round.

Ornelas answered Caiz’s count by eight and made it to the fifth round.

Ornelas landed a left uppercut and then a straight left that made Mason move away and reset his feet with just under a minute to go in the third round. Mason otherwise controlled action in the third round, when he backed up Ornelas barely 40 seconds into it with a straight left and continually landed to Ornelas’ body.

Mason landed several left hands and attacked Ornelas’ body in the first two minutes of the second round. A left on the inside by Mason made Ornelas take a knee after a delayed reaction with 44 seconds to go in the second round.

Ornelas wasn’t hurt badly. He popped to his feet quickly and Mason couldn’t capitalize on that knockdown.

Mason calmly approached the first round versus Ornelas two bouts after Dominican Yohan Vasquez knocked him down twice during the opening round of their November 8 bout at Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Mason also dropped Vasquez twice in that firefight, which he won by second-round knockout.