Abdullah Mason has the belt, and now he’s on to the challenge of staying power.
The 22-year-old WBO lightweight champion from Cleveland weighed in at the limit 135lbs Friday for his first title defense headlining TNT’s new monthly series, “The Fight,” when he’ll meet No. 6-ranked contender Albert Bell at Cleveland State’s Wolstein Center.
DAZN will also stream the action.
“This is gonna be big for Cleveland,” Mason said after weighing in. “I’ve got an appetite for smoke.”
Bell weighed in at 134.9lbs after replacing Joe Cordina as the opponent last month when Cordina was denied a travel visa from the U.K.
For the co-main, new WBC featherweight champion Bruce “ShuShu” Carrington is also making his first title defense, meeting ProBoxTV product Rene Palacios of Mexico, a hard-hitting southpaw who elbowed Carrington as they posed for photos after weighing in.
Carrington weighed 124.9 and Palacios was at 125.7.
“I’m gonna smoke him. He’s getting knocked out,” Carrington said.
U.S. Olympian Delante “Tiger” Johnson was also on weight at 147lbs for his meeting with unbeaten Christopher Guerrero, who was 146.6lbs.
