Abdullah Mason, Albert Bell ready for unexpected clash
Neither Abdullah Mason nor Albert Bell anticipated they’d be sharing the ring against each other in the near future.
The Ohio natives have sparred against one another, but the stakes will be significantly higher come Saturday night.
Mason makes the first defense of his WBO lightweight title against Bell at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center on DAZN and TNT. The card is the first installment of “The Fight” series, which will be showcased once a month on DAZN and TNT.
Mason, 22, was originally scheduled to face former junior lightweight world champion Joe Cordina. However, the Welshman was unable to get a visa because of an assault charge, paving the way for Bell to step in with a little over a week’s notice.
“It was definitely unexpected,” Mason said at the final press conference on Thursday. “Albert Bell, that's our guy from Toledo, but it's boxing. You’ve got to be prepared for anything, and I'm prepared to come out on top. Everything happens for a reason. I'm the youngest world champion in boxing for a reason, and I'm prepared to show that when I step in the ring.”
“It caught me by surprise,” Bell added. “It wasn’t an ideal opponent for me. I didn't really have thoughts on fighting Abdullah, especially no time soon, but everything made sense. I talked to my pops about it, talked to the Masons, and stepped in to save the card, get my world title opportunity and put on the show for all of Ohio.”
Mason (20-0, 17 KOs), the youngest male champion in boxing, won the then-vacant WBO belt with a thrilling unanimous decision victory over Sam Noakes in November in Saudi Arabia. While he fought toe to toe with the previously undefeated Englishman, he doesn’t anticipate every fight playing out like that.
“It was definitely a much-needed experience, and that's not a type of fight that you fight all the time in your career,” Mason said. “That's something I felt like I had to do that night. Each night is different, and it definitely gave me some insight on how I go about the rest of my fights in my career.”
The 33-year-old Bell (28-0, 9 KOs), who is three inches taller and whose reach is four inches longer than Cordina, had been scheduled to fight Andy Cruz in an IBF title eliminator on July 18 in Carson, California. He last fought in August, beating Keith Hunter by unanimous decision. Bell used to be promoted by Top Rank, but they amicably parted ways.
“We’re at the top level,” Bell said. “We’ve been in there with all the styles in the world. Cruz does fight a more moving style. I got some experience with Abdullah already. So just tailor the adjustments to that, and it’s really just about being in shape and being prepared. Boxing is all about adjustments.”
Two of Mason’s brothers, Ibrahim and Abdurrahman, are scheduled to fight on the untelevised portion of the card. Sharing the card with them in Cleveland adds to the homecoming bout and was something he and his siblings had visualized before joining the pro ranks.
“It's something that me and my brothers’ been looking forward to doing since we were amateurs,” Mason said. “We fought on the same card a few times as amateurs, and all of us together, we did it on the last show that my father threw here in Cleveland, and it was huge. At that time, we were like, ‘Yo, we do this on a professional level, it's gonna be big for Cleveland.’
“It’s big for not only Cleveland now, but it's on TNT, so this is a national stage, DAZN, and I'm just excited to be able to put this show on with two of my brothers on a card.”
