Mason, at right, lands a right on Noakes in their recent championship fight for the vacant WBO Lightweight title on November 22, 2025 (photo courtesy of DAZN and Michael Olajide’s Facebook page)
“Abdullah Mason doesn’t like those body shots…” Let’s get it straight… absolutely no one likes getting hit in the body. Unlike head shots, you actually feel the pain of a body shot.
I can only think of one fighter that appeared to be unbothered by body shots, and he got hit to the body by the world’s most thunderous punchers, and that’s, yup, you guessed it… Muhammad Ali.
“Sharp jabs…Use the ring!” “Catch and shoot. Don’t let him counter you!” “Name of the game is boxing…” “If you’re not there, you won’t be hit!” All this great advice from Abdullah’s corner went unheeded.
As a youngster, sometimes you just CAN’T listen to anyone… It’s a self-destructive mechanism most have… We feel we know better because we are the ones experiencing the fight… It’s the undoing of many a talent… But you can’t let it win. Little Red Riding Hood thought she knew better, and look what happened to her. She was told over and over not to talk to anyone on the way to Grandma’s house, but she thought she knew better and got into a conversation with the wolf. Ended up getting herself and her grandma eaten.
A closer relative would be Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran, Round 1. Ray got it right in fight 2.
Youth always gotta test the waters. That’s their most defining trait. They think they know better, but the smartest kids are the ones that learn from other people’s experiences.
Enter Mason, ultra-talented… Featured bout on the mega card from Arabia. He’s a young fighter on the come up and everyone thinks he’s the next star.
At the end of round 1, it seemed like all four people in his corner were yelling the same thing… “Box this guy”. “Score and then disappear”. Mason didn’t…The result, he won the fight… but made it harder than it had to be.
Abdullah, based on that fight, people are gonna say you’re exciting… crowd pleasing and entertaining for the public… That’s the trap… Don’t fall for it young man. Keep honing the tools that got you there. Don’t let the voices that appeal to your ego, take root. It’s a setup.
Yeah, technical boxing may be boring for you, or the crowd, but listen to your trainers, they want you to win, everyone else wants to see a great fight… Don’t switch boats mid-stream. Trust me, you’ll regret it.
100%Silk