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Abdullah Mason Expects To Challenge ‘Great Fighter’ Keyshawn Davis ‘Real Soon’
Article
Keith Idec
Keith Idec
RingMagazine.com
Abdullah Mason Expects To Challenge ‘Great Fighter’ Keyshawn Davis ‘Real Soon’
Abdullah Mason turned 21 two months ago and has just his second 10-round fight scheduled for Saturday night.

The Cleveland native is nonetheless convinced he is ready for a title shot after he beats Namibia’s Jeremia Nakathila in a co-feature ESPN will televise from Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. The skilled, strong southpaw would love to have Keyshawn Davis, who will encounter Edwin De Los Santos in the main event, grant him that championship chance.

Davis dared Mason to fight him next as part of a heated exchanged during a press conference Thursday in Norfolk.




Mason would welcome shots at WBA champ Gervonta Davis, WBC champ Shakur Stevenson and IBF interim title-holder Raymond Muratalla just as soon.

“You got four world champions right now in my division,” Mason told The Ring. “I’m in a spot where if they throw me an opportunity, I’m ready. I’m ranked in the top 10, so I could fight for one of those titles. All four names, I’ll be prepared to step in there wit’ em.”

Mason (18-0, 16 KOs) is rated highest by the WBO, which lists him as its No. 2 contender for Keyshawn Davis’ title. He is ranked fourth by the WBC and 15th by the IBF.

Neither The Ring nor the WBA rate Mason among its top 10 and top 15 lightweight contenders.


The Ring’s lightweight title is vacant. Gervonta Davis is ranked No. 1 by The Ring, Keyshawn Davis is No. 2, Stevenson is No. 3 and Muratalla is No. 5.

Keyshawn Davis (13-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC), Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) and Mason are all promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. That, theoretically at least, should make it easier to secure Mason lightweight title shots.

Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs), a southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, is scheduled to make a mandated defense of his WBC belt against Mexican southpaw William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) on "The Ring III” pay-per-view card July 12 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York.

Gervonta Davis (30-0-1, 28 KOs) is contractually committed to an immediate rematch with Lamont Roach (25-1-2, 10 KOs) on Aug. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.


The schedules of Keyshawn Davis and Mason will align perfectly if they win and emerge from their fights unscathed Saturday night. Keyshawn Davis, 26, has ascended to the elite level of the lightweight division over the past 16 months, yet Mason is certain he is prepared for that degree of difficulty.

“He’s a great fighter, somebody at the top, and I feel like we’ll meet in the pros real soon,” Mason said. “You got Keyshawn, you got Shakur, you got Tank, you got Raymond Muratalla. So it really doesn’t matter. Me and [Keyshawn Davis] have been progressing at the same time. …

"I can’t wait to get a title. I can’t wait till they throw me the opportunity. I’m right here, so they know I’m ready. Whoever at the top, they know if they throw me an opportunity I’m stepping in there.”

ESPN’s two-bout broadcast will begin at 10 p.m. ET (3 a.m. GMT) on Saturday night from Norfolk, Keyshawn Davis’ hometown. Mason (25-1) and Davis (10-1) are significant favorites to win their bouts against Nakathila (26-4, 21 KOs) and De Los Santos (16-2, 14 KOs).
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing

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