“It hasn’t even been four years since my last amateur fight,” Mason said during the press conference. “So, the same thing we did with ESPN with Top Rank, the progress we’ve made since I turned pro. I feel like we can do the same thing with DAZN.”
Mason (21-0, 17 KOs) won the vacant WBO title last November with a decision over Sam Noakes in a high-action fight that showed both his upside and the areas that still need work. It was a good win. Nor was it the kind that settles where he stands in a crowded lightweight division.
That’s where his comments start to get ahead of his position. “I can’t wait to collect many more of these (world titles at 135),” Mason said. “So from here I want to collect more world titles. However they come, I’m ready to grab them all.”
He also put no ceiling on how far he thinks he can go.
“As much as I want to climb,” Mason said when asked about moving up in weight. “Whether it’s one, two, three, four, five, six … I’m taking it one step at a time.”
This kind of talk is normal for a young champion. It’s also easy to tell before you’ve been with the fighters that force you to slow down and adjust.
Mason is one of Top Rank’s top prospects in terms of style and upside. He throws with intent, he takes chances, and he doesn’t fight like someone who is carefully guarded. That part is real. What hasn’t happened yet are the battles that turn that promise into something proven.
The move to DAZN doesn’t change that. It just gives Top Rank another stage to build him around.
If Mason continues to be as consistent as he has been, the wins will continue to come. The question is what happens when those wins are no longer guaranteed, and the fights begin to demand more from him than offense and confidence. That’s where this version of Mason still has something to show.
