NORFOLK, Virginia – Abdullah Mason wanted a more conclusive victory Saturday night.

A ringside physician determined Mason would have to settle for stopping Jeremia Nakathila due to a cut and Nakathila’s inability to see out of his left eye. Their 10-round main event was stopped one second into the fifth round because the cut on Nakathila’s left eyelid blurred his vision.

Cleveland’s Mason (19-0, 17 KOs) hurt Nakathila in the third and fourth rounds and appeared well on his way to producing a cleaner knockout before their fight ended. Namibia’s Nakathila (26-5, 21 KOs) lost by knockout or technical knockout for the third time in his past six fights.

“It was a great fight,” Mason told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel in the ring. “I knew he had some power, so I took my time a little bit and eventually broke him down and got him out of there.”

Mason knocked out Nakathila at the same venue where he overcame two first-round knockdowns to knock out Johan Vasquez (26-6, 21 KOs) in the second round November 8.

The 21-year-old southpaw also maintained his No. 2 spot in the WBO lightweight rankings, which could enable to fight for that vacant championship in his next fight against No. 1 contender Sam Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs).

Mason nailed Nakathila with a left hand that buckled his legs and made him hold Mason with about 1:40 remaining in the fourth round. An aggressive Mason sensed Nakathila was hurt and tried to finish him before the fourth round ended.

Flores took a close look at the cut on Nakathila’s left eyelid as he walked to his corner once the bell sounded to end the fourth round.

A sweeping left hand by Mason knocked Nakathila across the ring, into the ropes, with about 15 seconds to go in the third round.

Mason knocked Nakathila backward with a left hand when there was just over a minute on the clock in the third round. A left to the body by Mason seemed to affect Nakathila a few seconds earlier.

Mason backed Nakathila into Nakathila’s corner and let his hands go with about 30 seconds remaining in the second round. Mason’s overhand left landed with just under 1:20 on the clock in the second round.

Mason’s left hand landed to the side of Nakathila’s head and knocked him off balance with about five seconds remaining in the first round. Nakathila landed a straight right with just under a minute to go in the opening round.

Mason and Nakathila initially were scheduled to box in the co-feature Saturday night. They were elevated to ESPN’s main event once the WBO lightweight title bout between Norfolk’s Keyshawn Davis and Edwin De Los Santos was canceled Friday night.

Davis (13-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) lost his WBO belt on the scale because he came in 4.3 pounds overweight Friday afternoon for their 12-round, 135-pound championship match. Their representatives negotiated to move forward with their bout, but Sampson Lewkowicz, De Los Santos’ promoter, ultimately determined De Los Santos shouldn’t risk facing someone who was so much heavier than him.