Abdullah Mason became the youngest world titleholder in men’s boxing today, capturing the vacant WBO lightweight belt with a unanimous decision over Sam Noakes on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The victory was clear. But it wasn’t easy.
The scores – 117-111 from one judge, 115-113 from the other two – reflected the back-and-forth battle the 21-year-old Mason was drawn into by the tough and tenacious Noakes.
"I am now boxing’s youngest active world champion," Mason said afterward. "We got the win, but it was a tough fight. We’re on to the next.”
The fight began with Mason seeking to work from a distance and utilize his advantages in reach and hand speed. Noakes looked for opportunities for counters and also occasionally rushed inside, where he had some success touching Mason up with combinations.
In the second round, Mason adjusted by jabbing from a distance and then moving, and he laced in a left hand from his southpaw stance as Noakes bulled forward. When Noakes got inside anyway, Mason tied up. About halfway through the round, Mason scored with a strong left cross and followed up with a few more blows. Noakes responded with a pair of good right hands of his own.
Mason staggered Noakes in the third round with a good left uppercut. Noakes fired back and Mason directed his own artillery toward Noakes’ body to try to take the fight out of him. The real damage came soon from a clash of heads, which opened a bloody cut above Noakes’ left eye. The wound would not have a bearing on the outcome.
Noakes continued to come forward, hoping his aggression and determination could overcome his disadvantages in speed and power. He would need to grind Mason down in a war of attrition, drag him into an inside battle or catch Mason clean with a counter. It was the right approach; Noakes scored with a good right hand in the fifth, a reminder that Mason couldn’t just assume that the fight was in the bag.
As the fight reached the middle rounds, Mason wisely chose to pick his spots rather than try to blow Noakes out, settling in for the long haul – particularly prudent given that Mason had gone six rounds only three times before – and never beyond that.
The downside of that approach is Mason remained near enough that Noakes had opportunities to throw back. In the seventh round, Noakes went to Mason’s body with a pair of blows and then laced in a right hand. In the final minute of the round, the two exchanged flush shots.
That served to embolden Noakes, who seemed energized as the eighth round kicked off. Mason drained Noakes’ battery with several lefts to the body. The give-and-take resumed in the ninth, though. Mason backed Noakes up with left hands 30 seconds in. Noakes caught Mason circling away with a left hook and a right hand.
Body shots sent Noakes in retreat halfway through the 10th. And Mason went upstairs in the final minute and had Noakes reeling. Noakes refused to tie up but made it to the end of the round.
Noakes wasn’t just steady on his feet by the time the 11th began – he also had more than enough wind to take the round. Noakes got Mason’s attention with a pair of body shots, then a looping right hand and a left hook. Mason dug down and sent out a left uppercut, leading to an exchange between the two as the round came to an end.
The 12th was reminiscent of the rounds before it, both men trading from close range, Mason needing to throw heavy blows just to try to keep Noakes off him for a bit.
Mason won the fight and the world title. Noakes came up short on the scorecards but earned a lot of respect.
The WBO belt had been left vacant when Keyshawn Davis came in massively overweight for a June bout with Edwin De Los Santos, which was subsequently called off. Mason, who like Davis is part of the Top Rank roster, was a natural choice to take advantage of the situation.
Mason, who hails from Cleveland, had been eyed as a future lightweight titleholder early on in his career. Some doubts surfaced a year ago, however, when Mason had to get off the canvas twice to win a thrilling two-rounder with Yohan Vazquez. Mason followed that with a pair of TKO victories over the 28-4 Carlos Ornelas and gatekeeper Jeremia Nakathila.
Mason, now 20-0 (17 KOs), will remain a work in progress as a titleholder – understandable given his age – and shoring up his defense should be a priority.
Noakes, now 17-1 (15 Kos), was taking a big step up after competing against lower levels of competition. Although this fight didn’t end the way the 28-year-old from Maidstone, England, would have wanted, he should remain in contention. The road back to a second title shot shouldn’t take too long.
On the undercard just before Mason vs. Noakes, middleweight Vito Mielniecki scored a ninth-round technical knockout over Samuel Nmomah. Mielnicki dropped Nnomah with a looping right hand and then a left hook. Nnomah beat the count, but the referee waved things off before the bout resumed. This was the third fight at 160lbs for Mielnicki, who improved to 22-1 (13 KOs). Nnomah suffered his first defeat and is now 21-1 (5 KOs).
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
