Abdullah Mason (16-0, 14 KOs) had to overcome adversity last Friday night and suffered two first round knockdowns before coming back to knock out power puncher Yohan Vasquez (26-6, 21 KOs) in the second round last Friday night. at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.
(Credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank)
Mason, 20, stopped the injured Vasquez with a left to the body in round two and bailed himself out of a tough situation to get the knockout at the 1:59 mark. Vasquez suffered a right leg injury after being hurt by a straight left from Mason early in round two, and he was defenseless at the point.
After the fight, Mason admitted he made a mistake by taking the fight inside so early against the hard-hitting 30-year-old Vasquez, who was born in the Dominican Republic. In hindsight, Mason feels that he should have boxed initially before going inside to make it a war against a big puncher fighter.
Abdullah Mason came back
In the first down, Mason tried to throw an uppercut on the inside and was nailed by a short left hook from Vasquez. Mason then came back to drop Vasquez with a thunderous left uppercut in the first round.
Mason was like a shark smelling blood in the water and attacked Vasquez without caution. In the final seconds of round one, Vasquez dropped Mason again with a left hook. He was not hurt when he stood up again, but had a look of surprise on his face as if to say, “How did I get caught again?”
“That’s what we’re in it for – to make boxing exciting. It was fun. I showed that I’m human, but I came back,” said Abdullah Mason Battle hypeand discussed his need to get off the deck twice from first-round takedowns to rally to score a second-round knockout of Yohan Vasquez last Friday night in Norfolk, Virginia.
“Flash; it was a lightning strike,” Abdullah said of being dropped twice by a left hook by Vasquez in the first round. “It was a great fight but I’m here and we’re on to the next one. I have to go back and rewatch it step by step to remember all the moments.
Mason wants title shot in 2025
“We want them all,” Mason said of wanting all the lightweight champions he’ll target for a title shot in 2025.
Top Rank will decide if they want to push Mason for a world title in 2025, as they could choose to continue him after the struggles he had against non-contender Vasquez. For Mason to have a chance against either world champion, he will need to avoid making the same careless mistakes that led to his two knockouts.
If Mason does fight for a world title next year, a match against WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson, WBO champion Denys Berinchyk or whoever holds the IBF belt would be good options.
“As soon as I watched it back, I was like, ‘Oh no,’ but it turned me into a new fighter,” Mason told Fighthype about his belief that he will improve on his performance. “I would say I stepped in a bit early. Being a power puncher, I knew I was going in there to box him, but I stepped on the inside a little early.”
Areas of improvement for Abdullah Mason
– Stay outside
– Use height and reach
– Soften opponents first
– Avoid early shootouts
Against a powerful fighter like Vasquez, Mason should have stayed on the outside and bombarded him from long range rather than getting in close where his opponent could hit him with his hard left hooks.
“I deviated from the plan and everything my father tells me; This time I saw it up close instead of learning from someone else’s mistakes.
 had to overcome adversity last Friday night, suffering two first-round knockdowns before coming back to knock out the power){kind=link}