Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank – Abdullah Mason (13-0, 11 KOs) is my prospect of the month of June.
For a sports fan, I don’t think there’s a worse city than Cleveland.
November 2000: Manny Ramirez leaves the Indians for money from the Red Sox, who offers him 118 million over 7 years.
July 2008: LeBron James leaves Ohio to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to win titles with the Miami Heat. The public criticizes him from all sides. He will come back to win a championship… but will leave again with a vengeance.
May 2014: The Browns draft Johnny Manziel, aka ‘Johnny Football’ who will end his career by failing drug tests with the Montreal Alouettes…
Even worse, a 2023 study put Cleveland as the worst city in the entire country to raise a family.
Here comes the sun
Thank God, or whatever superior force you believe in, the city of Cleveland was rewarded with a family of 5 boxers including the best prospect in the world.
Amir Mason (4-1, 3 KOs), Adel Mason (1-0, 1 KO), Abdurrahman Mason (2-0, 2 KOs), Ibrahim Mason (1-0, 1 KO) and, of course, Abdullah Mason (13-0, 11 KOs).
They are the Jackson Five of boxing or the Mason brothers, 5 boxers aged 17 to 26, all trained by their father Valiant Mason.
The prodigy of the pack
Bob Arum signed Abdullah when the latter was just 17 years old. It all started when, one day, his father had the idea of dividing his sons to make them multidisciplinary: karate, jiu-jitsu and taekwondo for the older ones. Mason insisted on choosing boxing and it is still the best idea he had to this day.
‘[Abdullah Mason]’s the best I’ve seen so young,’ Bob Arum even said in an interview with Keith Idec.
The competition is already fierce at 135 pounds, with the presence of the Cuban Andy Cruz, the gifted Keyshawn Davis and Emiliano Vargas, which suggests that Abdullah Mason will quickly have to prove that he is the best prospect in his division and the United States.
What makes him special: Everything he does is extraordinary.
To be named the best prospect in all of America, as I just claimed he is, you need special qualities. First of all, Mason is a southpaw who works behind his jab with flawless technique. The famous story of the front foot during a left-handed versus right-handed fight is the 20-year-old’s specialty. He is precise and extremely precise on the counterattack. It’s a headache for the opponent to launch an attack against him, because he counters as quickly as the attack is launched. I would say I’ve never even seen that in terms of counterattack speed like he can read his opponent’s mind to predict their moves.
I am not alone
In the closed circle of boxing experts (I don’t include myself, but I read them), the tendency is to repeat that Mason is faster, hits harder and is smarter than Devin Haney, and that the latter will soon his time, leaving Mason to take his place as number 1.
In addition, the team that is taking care of Abdullah’s career is more than competent. We are talking about Bob Arum (promoter), James Prince (manager), Brad Goodman (matchmaker) and Valiant Mason (father/trainer).
I could go on all day convincing you that he is ‘The Next Big Thing’ in boxing right now. Don’t deprive yourself of the pleasure, go see him in action on YouTube (HERE) and join us at the Videotron Centre on August 17 to see him with your own eyes.
He will also fight on July 6 on the undercard of Shakur Stevenson, in New Jersey, against veteran Luis LeBron (20-5-1, 13 KOs).
