Mason Storms Back to Defend WBO Lightweight Title Against Bell in 12th Round

Abdullah Mason defended his WBO lightweight title with a dramatic 12th-round comeback, stopping Albert Bell at 0:45 of the final round. At just 22 years old, Mason remains boxing’s youngest male world champion—and this victory marked his first title defense.

Getting there wasn’t easy. Mason trailed on the scorecards through five rounds, struggling to find his rhythm and staring down the real possibility of losing his belt in only his first defense. But he didn’t panic.

Round 12 changed everything. Mason dropped Bell immediately when the referee restarted the action. Thirty seconds later, Bell hit the canvas again, and the referee waved it off.

Bell, fighting on less than two weeks’ notice after replacing Joe Cordina, suffered the first loss of his 30-fight career.

The night was a Mason family affair. Abdullah’s brothers Ibrahim and Abdurrahim both won their preliminary bouts at home, giving the family a perfect 3-0 record. Ibrahim stopped Erik Hanley in Round 2 at 1:59, while Abdurrahim took a unanimous decision over Alvaro Huizar Cabral (40-36 on all three scorecards).

The co-main event saw Bruce Carrington defend his WBC featherweight title for the first time, beating Rene Palacios by unanimous decision with scores of 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112. Carrington’s record improved to 18-0. A punch sent him to one knee midway through, but the referee ruled it a slip, not a knockdown.

Delante Johnson won his welterweight bout against Christopher Guerrero by unanimous decision (100-92, 99-91, 99-91). In a lightweight matchup, Deric Davis outpointed Carlos Ramos with scores of 78-74, 78-74, and 77-75.