RISING lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason, 16-0 (14 KOs), is being tipped for the very top, with he and fellow American rival Floyd Schofield, 18-0 (12 KOs), seen as ones to watch in the 135lb division.
Now, with Schofield set to challenge for world honours against Shakur Stevenson, 22-0 (10 KOs), next weekend, Mason has laid out his prediction for the all-American clash and recalled the times that he sparred both men.
A 2017 national amateur champion, Mason turned professional at just 17 years old and debuted one month later, sparring current WBC lightweight world champion Stevenson during the build-up and going on to score a second-round knockout win.
Speaking exclusively with Boxing News, Mason admitted that the time he spent sparring the Newark-born sensation ‘let him know where he was at’ prior to his debut.
“It let me know where I was at, it was great work. I did a full training camp with him, and I could definitely tell that I was still a little young as far as my body [was concerned]. I was sweaty, I was sore, whereas he still wanted a little more.”
Meanwhile, sparring stories between Mason and Schofield have made headlines in the past, with the latter’s team boasting that ‘Kid Austin’ hurt Mason when they shared the ring and going on to predict that their rival could struggle down the line due to a supposedly weak chin.
Yet, Mason denied those claims, declaring that he and Schofield and have only ever sparred one round and that the now 22-year-old ended their session earlier than he should have.
“We shared one round together; we haven’t had a full sparring session. They came into the gym, and it was like a round-robin going on, a few different fighters were getting three rounds here and there.
“I stepped in there and they did one round, but they stepped out after that. We don’t know why, we kind of wanted to keep going.”
Still, it is Schofield who will get the first shot at world honours between the pair, as he travels to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to upset the odds and hand Stevenson a first career defeat.
Predicting a victory for Stevenson, Mason explained why his major concern is how bad Stevenson will defeat Schofield rather than worrying whether the champion will retain his title, believing an embarrassing beatdown could impact interest in their future fight.
“I don’t think that he is going to get past Shakur, so I don’t know if I would even want to entertain that [fight] if Shakur does him horribly, because then how would I outdo him?”
Stevenson-Schofield takes place on the mammoth Beterbiev-Bivol II undercard on Saturday, February 22, as one of four full world title contests on the night.
As for Mason, he fights Manuel Jaimes, 16-2-1 (11 KOs), tomorrow night on the Berinchyk-Davis bill, hoping to do what Rolando Romero couldn’t and stop Jaimes inside of the distance in a scheduled eight-round affair.
