Abdullah Mason and Albert Bell produced a competitive lightweight battle before a dramatic finish in the final round on Saturday night at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Fighting in front of his hometown crowd, Mason was pushed hard by the unbeaten challenger before closing the show late to retain his world title.
Bell, who accepted the fight on short notice after replacing Joe Cordina, gave Mason one of the toughest tests of his career. The Toledo native boxed confidently throughout much of the contest, forcing the champion to work for every round in a closely fought title clash.
The fight reached the championship rounds still very much in the balance before Mason found another gear. In the 12th round, the unbeaten southpaw dropped Bell with a straight left hand before sending him down again with a left hook moments later. As Bell attempted to clinch after getting back to his feet, the referee waved off the contest without issuing another count, a stoppage that immediately drew protests from the challenger.
The official time was 0:45 of Round 12, giving Mason a dramatic TKO victory to successfully defend his WBO lightweight title. The win improves the Cleveland native to 21-0 (18 KOs), while Bell suffers the first defeat of his career, dropping to 28-1 (9 KOs).
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In the co-main event, Bruce Carrington retained his WBC featherweight title with a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Rene Palacios by scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. Tiger Johnson also impressed, defeating Christopher Guerrero by unanimous decision to retain his WBO NABO title while adding the WBC Continental Americas and IBF North American welterweight belts.
Earlier on the card, Deric Davis remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision over Carlos Ramos, Ibrahim Mason scored four knockdowns before stopping Erik Hanley in the second round, and Abdurrahman Mason opened the event with a shutout decision victory over Alvaro Huizar Cabral.
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