FOLLOWING a weekend of drama, Keyshawn Davis has lost fans, respect and most importantly his world title. Now, it seems that Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes will collide in the bout to crown a new WBO lightweight world champion.
Davis, 13-0 (9 KOs), was poised to make a first defence of his 135lb strap against Edwin De Los Santos on Saturday night, before proceeding to miss weight by over four pounds and ultimately causing the cancellation of the main event in front of his hometown crowd at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
Instead, WBO #2 contender Mason, 19-0 (17 KOs), stepped up to the plate and filled the headline slot, delivering an impressive fifth-round stoppage of Jeremia Nakathila to solidify his position as one of America’s hottest prospects.
There are now rumours that the WBO will order Cleveland’s Mason to take on Maidstone’s Sam Noakes, 17-0 (15 KOs), in a clash to determine a new titleholder. Speaking to a media huddle after his win, the Mason revealed his hopes of fighting for a world title in his next outing and doing so on home soil.
“That is what we are going to do next, [fight for the world title]. We had to get Nakathila out of the way first, now we are about to head into the back and see what we can make happen. Hopefully, that [main event in Cleveland] is in the works too for [my] next [fight]. Everything is unfolding at its proper time, so right now is the first step to a lot of greatness, inshallah.”
Mason went on to add his respect for the unbeaten Brit, who is positioned as the WBO #1 contender, crediting the aggressive style of Noakes whilst beckoning the fight on.
“[My message to Sam Noakes is] let’s make it happen, let’s have a great fight. That would be amazing, it’s something that people definitely want to see.
“I feel like Sam Noakes is definitely a worthy opponent, he lets his hands go and he is very offensive as well. So that would be something amazing.”
Meanwhile, Noakes’ promoter Frank Warren showed no intentions of slamming the brakes on the 27-year-old’s world title charge, taking to social media to announce his intentions of having Noakes box for world honours in his next fight.
Both parties must now wait for an official order from the WBO, although an announcement of their decision is expected imminently, meaning Mason and Noakes will likely collide before the end of the year.
