Abdullah Mason survives slow start, stops Albert Bell in controversial 12th-round finish
· Yahoo Sports
CLEVELAND — Abdullah Mason is still undefeated, but he had to fight through adversity, and a controversial finish, to keep it that way.
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Mason improved to 21-0 with a 12th-round technical knockout of Albert Bell on Saturday night at Wolstein Center, retaining his WBO lightweight title in front of a hometown crowd that willed him through a fight he trailed on the cards for much of the night. Bell, previously unbeaten at 28-0, dropped his first fight as a professional, but not without leaving plenty for the judges, and the referee, to sort through.
The opening rounds belonged to Bell. He controlled range with his right hand, timed Mason's aggression with sharp counters, and used a compact, economical style to keep the younger, more explosive fighter off balance. Broadcast analyst Chris Mannix had Bell ahead in all four rounds through the midpoint of the fight, and by the fifth round it was clear timing was beating power. Bell mixed in body work of his own, closing the sixth round with a straight right to the midsection that punctuated what may have been his best round of the fight.
Abdullah Mason connects with a left hand on Albert Bell as the fight begins to turn in his favor.Top Rank
Abdullah Mason connects with a left hand on Albert Bell as the fight begins to turn in his favor.
Mason began finding his rhythm in the seventh, landing a clean right hand that drew a roar from the Cleveland crowd, and carried that momentum into the eighth behind quick footwork and straight left hands that started catching up to Bell. But it was the ninth round where the fight turned. Mason abandoned single shots for a body attack, throwing straight and looping punches downstairs in bunches, and Bell's composure started to crack. By the tenth round, Bell's snapping jab had turned into a push, a sign, broadcasters noted, that his legs and his confidence were both fading. Mason's corner urged him to keep the pressure downstairs between rounds, telling him he was close to finishing the job.
Abdullah Mason and Albert Bell exchange in close quarters as the fight swings in Mason's favor.Top Rank
Abdullah Mason and Albert Bell exchange in close quarters as the fight swings in Mason's favor.
The fight ended abruptly in the 12th. Mason scored a second knockdown early in the round, then followed with a left to the head that sent Bell to his knees. Referee Mark Nelson waved the fight off 45 seconds into the round, and the stoppage was immediately debated by the broadcast team. Tim Bradley, Shawn Porter and Bud Crawford all argued Bell should have been given a count, with Crawford calling it a push down rather than a true knockdown. Bradley suggested Bell was trying to avoid further punishment to the body but felt he deserved the chance to get up and finish on his feet.
Mason did not dispute the sentiment that he likely would have won a decision regardless of the stoppage.
“I feel great. Much respect to Albert for getting in there with me,” Mason said. Asked in his post-fight interview about the slow start, he said his team reminded him he might be behind on the cards, which pushed him to change the fight's pace. “I feel like I did show him a little mercy in the first few rounds,” he added, saying he held back the pace he had shown in sparring so as not to give Bell the same look all night.
Bell, for his part, wanted the chance to finish. “Let me finish and let me go out on my shield at least,” he said, adding that he was having trouble breathing through his nose in the late rounds.
The win keeps Mason's record spotless and adds another signature moment to a young career that has now included a hometown world title defense on network television. Whatever the debate over the stoppage, Mason showed he could adjust when a fight was not going his way, weathering an early deficit against a patient, savvy opponent before closing the show.
Bruce Carrington lands a left hand on Rene Palacios during their WBC featherweight title fight at Wolstein Center.Top Rank
Bruce Carrington lands a left hand on Rene Palacios during their WBC featherweight title fight at Wolstein Center.
The co-main event was also a title fight, and Bruce Carrington kept his WBC featherweight belt, outpointing previously unbeaten Rene Palacios by unanimous decision on scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112. Carrington controlled most of the rounds but had a scare in the 11th when Palacios landed a hard left hook to the body that visibly hurt him, one of the few moments all night that Palacios found real success.
Bruce Carrington keeps his guard up against Rene Palacios in their WBC featherweight title bout.Top Rank
Bruce Carrington keeps his guard up against Rene Palacios in their WBC featherweight title bout.
Bruce Carrington has his hand raised after retaining his WBC featherweight title against Rene Palacios.Top Rank
Bruce Carrington has his hand raised after retaining his WBC featherweight title against Rene Palacios.
The next stop on the TNT boxing schedule is August 1 in Las Vegas, when Lamont Roach Jr. faces William Zepeda.