Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes are waiting for the WBO to order them to fight for the vacant lightweight title. The WBO is expected to order the Mason vs. Noakes fight this week to battle for the 135-lb belt that they stripped from Keyshawn Davis last Friday after he missed weight.
Abdullah Mason’s Confidence Level
The fearless, unbeaten 21-year-old Mason (19-0, 17 KOs) says he’d welcome the chance to fight Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs) in his home country in the UK if it comes to that. He’s not worried about the judges robbing him or the British fans rooting against him.
Obviously, Mason would be a big favorite, and that gives him more confidence than he would have if he were facing former WBO champion Keyshawn for the belt. We saw last Thursday how Abdullah seemed to hesitate when Davis directly challenged him to face him next.
Fans don’t know how good either of these fighters is. All we know is that Noakes and Mason are unbeaten, and they can punch. Mason’s resume is a little bit better due to his wins over Jeremia Nakathila and Yohan Vasquez.
Noakes, 27, hasn’t fought good enough opposition for Mason to be worried about losing to him. The opposition that Sam has fought during his six-year pro career makes one wonder why he’s ranked #1 by the WBO. It’s one of those mysteries in the sport.
Sam Noakes’ WBO Ranking Mystery
Noakes’ best is against 39-year-old Ryan Walsh. Was the WBO that impressed by that victory to give him a #1 ranking over Mason, Andy Cruz, and Edwin De Los Santos?
Abdullah looked outstanding last Saturday, stopping lightweight contender Jeremia Nakathila in the fifth round in the headliner at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Mason took his time against the big puncher Nakathila, slowly picking him apart before going for the finish in the fifth.
Mason-Nakathila was initially supposed to be the co-feature, but was moved to the headliner spot after Keyshawn missed weight for his title defense against De Los Santos.