Abdullah Mason says WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis is one of the champs at 135 that he’s interested in fighting “soon.” He points out that Mike Tyson captured his first heavyweight world title at 20. Abdullah, 21, is a year older and is knocking everyone out like ‘Iron Mike’ did at the start of his career.

Mason Targets Keyshawn

The unbeaten contender Mason (18-0, 16 KOs) admits that he doesn’t “know when” he’ll fight for a world title against Keyshawn or the other two champions, Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson, but he believes it won’t be long from now.

The way that Abdullah was dropped twice in his fight against Yohan Vasquez in the first round last November suggests that he won’t be rushed into a title shot against any of the champions. Mason’s chin is too fragile and his defense too leaky for him to be matched against Keyshawn or Tank Davis this early in his career.

Top Rank will decide when Abdullah is ready to challenge for a world title, but it’s unlikely that they’ll give the green light to letting him fight Keyshawn because they promote him as well. It’s better for Top Rank to keep Mason and Keyshawn on separate paths to create revenue streams.

Mason is fighting on Keyshawn’s undercard on June 7th against veteran Jeremia Nakathilia (26-4, 21 KOs) in a 10-round chief support bout at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Davis is defending his WBO 135-lb title against Edin De Los Santos. The event will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN+.

“I definitely want to fight with him as well as other fighters in my division. We’ve got other champions. Shakur Stevenson, we’ve got Tank Davis, and Raymond Muratalla is now a world champion,” said Abdullah Mason to Fighthype when asked if he’s interested in fighting WBO lightweight champion Keyshawn Davis.

Keyshawn Davis Leaving Lightweight Soon

Keyshawn is expected to move up to 140 soon. So, there’s little chance that Mason will fight him before he exits the lightweight division. He’s already as big as a house for the 135-lb division, and it’s only a matter of time before he fails to make weight or has an off-performance due to his struggles to make weight.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to fight them, but it’s looking like it’s going to be real soon,” said Mason. “So, hopefully, when I keep stepping up, I’m the co-main event right now, and I’m ranked #4 with the WBC. I can’t wait to step in there with whoever gives me the opportunity. Whenever that comes my way, I’ll be prepared for it.”

The WBC title should be the one that Mason goes after because Shakur Stevenson holds that belt. He’s a light hitter, and Mason wouldn’t have to worry about his punching power the way he would if he fought Keyshawn or Tank Davis. There are other fighters ahead of Mason in the WBC’s rankings. So, he’ll have to wait a while before he gets a shot at that belt.

“He’s a great opponent. He lets his hands go. He’s a hard hitter, and he puts his all into every punch,” said Abdullah about his opponent, Jeremia Nakathilia. “He came up a little short [against Shakur Stevenson], but he’s got to be prepared to come up short one more time, because I’m prepared to let my hands go and do my job on him.”

Nakathilia, 35, has excellent power, and he could be dangerous for Mason if he fights as recklessly as he did against Yohan Vasquez. He punches harder than Vasquez, and he’ll get Abdullah in trouble if he connects cleanly.

“The people I watched were Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Sugar Ray Leonard, just the greats in the sport. Sugar Ray Robinson was that guy. He was the one that I watched when I started watching boxing,” said Mason about legendary fighters he’s watched.