Abdullah Mason Retains WBO Title After Dramatic and Controversial Late Stoppage Against Albert Bell

There was plenty to like on Top Rank’s Cleveland card, but everyone will be talking about the ending to the main event.

Abdullah Mason kept hold of his WBO lightweight title after a twelfth-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Albert Bell, but the finish left fans divided. Bell had enjoyed real success early before Mason completely changed the fight with relentless body work, only for the referee’s intervention after two knockdowns to overshadow an otherwise entertaining contest.

Main Event

Abdullah Mason improved to 21-0-0 with a twelfth-round TKO over Albert Bell, who slipped to 28-1-0, successfully defending his WBO World Lightweight title.

For the opening half of the fight it looked like Bell might be about to pull off the upset. His movement, timing and sharp counters frustrated the champion, and it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to have him comfortably ahead after six rounds.

From the seventh onward, though, Mason finally found the key. He stopped head-hunting, dug vicious shots into Bell’s body and gradually drained the challenger’s legs. Round by round the momentum swung completely.

The championship rounds belonged to Mason, and the pressure finally told in the twelfth. Bell was dropped twice before referee Mark Nelson stepped in at 0:45 of the final round.

The stoppage, however, is likely to dominate the post-fight discussion. Bell immediately took a knee after the second knockdown and appeared composed, giving the impression he was ready to continue. Plenty of observers felt he deserved the chance to beat the count and see out the final seconds. Regardless of the debate, the official result goes into the books as a twelfth-round TKO victory for Mason.

The judges had Mason ahead 107-102, 107-102 and 106-103 when the fight was waved off.

Co-Main Event

Bruce Carrington made the first defence of his WBC World Featherweight title, improving to 18-0-0 with a unanimous decision over Rene Palacios, now 19-1-1.

Palacios was competitive in patches, but Carrington controlled the majority of the action and never really looked in danger. Scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 reflected a convincing night’s work for the champion, even if he didn’t quite produce the explosive finish some were expecting.

Other Title Fights

Delante Johnson stayed unbeaten, moving to 18-0-0 after a dominant unanimous decision over Christopher Guerrero, who suffered the first defeat of his career to fall to 16-1-0.

Johnson boxed with authority throughout the ten rounds and barely gave Guerrero a look in, sweeping the scorecards 100-90, 99-91 and 99-91 to capture the vacant IBF North American, WBC Continental Americas and WBO NABO welterweight titles. A real statement performance.

Undercard

Deric Davis handled business against Carlos Ramos, improving to 12-0-0 with an eight-round unanimous decision. Ramos drops to 18-5-1, while scores of 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75 gave Davis a deserved victory.

Abdurrahman Mason continued his unbeaten start, moving to 3-0-0 after a four-round unanimous decision over Alvaro Huizar Cabral, now 1-1-0. Every judge scored it 40-36.

Ibrahim Mason also kept the family celebrations going, improving to 3-0-0 with a second-round TKO of Erik Hanley. The fight was stopped at 1:59 of round two, leaving Hanley with a 1-3-0 record.

Closing Thoughts

The Mason family enjoyed another memorable night in Cleveland, with Abdullah, Ibrahim and Abdurrahman all extending their unbeaten records. Still, the biggest talking point won’t be the victories themselves—it’s whether Albert Bell should have been given the opportunity to continue after that second knockdown. Expect that debate to continue long after the scorecards have been forgotten.

---

Full Card Highlights Stream