In a recent promotional clip posted on Top Rank’s Instagram page, lightweight phenom Abdullah Mason is shown dispatching previously unbeaten Benjamin Gurment with a single left hand in February.
The caption read, “All he delivers is HIGHLIGHTS”
That’s been the case throughout the early stages of the 20-year-old’s pro career, and after 12 wins, 10 knockouts and plenty of those aforementioned highlights, he admits that it isn’t good fortune, but the game plan every time out.
“I definitely got to put on a show every time I step in there,” said Mason, who faces Ronal Ron this Saturday on the Jared Anderson-Ryad Merthy card at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. “That’s what you’re in it for. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to be the most entertaining fighter inside the ring, and outside the ring, as well. But first things first, you’ve got to perform inside the ring if you want to do what you got to do and earn what you got to earn.”
Ideally, that should be the philosophy of every fighter – go in, put on a show for the fans and reap the rewards. If more subscribed to that notion, maybe we wouldn’t be hearing that boxing is dead every ten minutes. But don’t worry, with Cleveland’s Mason, it appears that the future is in good hands, and even though he’s hearing good things about himself from the likes of Shakur Stevenson and Ryan Garcia, just to name two, he’s letting the future be the future without pushing things too fast.
“I know what I have and I know that if I keep doing it and I stay focused like I’ve been, all of the hard work I put in, it’ll flourish,” he said. “I just start seeing the results of it, and the only thing you could do nowadays is stay working and make sure you just keep doing what you’re doing.”
With Top Rank doing the promoting, matchmaking and marketing, along with co-promoter Antonio Leonard, and James Prince doing the managing, Mason is going to get the right opportunities at the right time. As for everything else, he leans on his father / coach Valiant Mason, and his four fighting brothers Amir, Adel, Abdurrahman, and Ibrahim. And family is what keeps Mason on track.
“Boxing was always a part of the picture, but whatever I’m in, I’m going to be serious about it and I’m going to be focused on it,” said Mason. “And what it is right now is boxing. So it’s not too hard to be focused or making sure I’m staying straight and doing what I’m supposed to do because that’s how I was raised. That’s how my father raised me and my brothers – to be focused on what we do.”
At 20 years old?
“It’s easy for me,” Mason chuckles. “They know what they want to do, I know what I want to do, and this is what I want to do.”
And the way he tells it, there was never another option once he first put the gloves on.
“Once I got into it, no.”
I call him on that, asking again if he ever wanted to do something other than box?
“No.”
Not even fly a rocket ship like most kids?
“I could do that after my job is done inside the ring,” he laughs.
He may just do it, too, but it’s that personality, coupled with his in the ring talent, that has many picking him to be a future star. Instagram agrees, with the Ohio native boasting 220,000 followers as he approaches fight night in Texas. These days, social media is part of the gig if you want to be a success in this, or any other, sport
“You definitely got to be tuned in with all your followers on social media because that’s what it is nowadays,” he said. “That’s a huge part of where your following comes from. All of that starts from social media. So, of course, you’ve got to tune in with your social media, but also make sure you’re doing what you’re doing on your end. So you’re not paying too much attention to it, and not letting it bother you or get to you. Because, at the end of the day, it’s social media.”
I stop short of asking for ID to prove that he’s only 20 but settle for asking if he’s the most mature of the Mason brothers.
“We all could be mature as soon as we have to,” he deadpans.
I tell him he’s got my vote for president, and we both laugh. But if we’re jumping the gun on him being the next big thing, it’s with good reason, because he’s got it all going for him. Now he just has to keep winning. And by next year, the future may just be the present.
“First things first, we’re taking it one step at a time, so it’s no rush, but I could definitely see down the line further,” Mason said. “I’m going to just keep doing what I’m doing, keep getting even more comfortable inside the professional ranks, and it’s only up from here, so I just can’t wait to see what the future holds.”