The revered Abdullah Mason has a packed diary but is focused only on the present

Plenty are tipping Abdullah Mason for greatness and his elevation to the televised portion of the ESPN card on Saturday (July 6) will likely ensure that optimism gathers pace.

Mason will fight in his third scheduled eight-round bout against Puerto Rican veteran Luis Lebron as the TV opener for the card that is topped by Shakur Stevenson-Artem Harutyunyan at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey 

The 20-year-old Mason (13-0, 11 KOs)  of Cleveland, Ohio, is confident in his skills and he’s already scheduled for a place on the August 17 Christian Mbilli-Sergiy Derevyanchenko undercard. In both 2022 and 2023 Mason fought five times and, already this year, he’s competed twice with two further bouts in the diary.

Luis Lebron (20-5-1, 13 KOs) has fought as light as featherweight but has campaigned at junior welterweight in his last two bouts, both victories, after consecutive losses at junior lightweight to Henry Lebron and Duke Ragan. Still, Mason isn’t taking him lightly.

“My opponent has as many knockouts as I have fights,” Mason said on Wednesday. “So, we’re ready for whatever he brings. He’s coming to win. He’s going to let his hands go.”

Trained by his father, Valiant Mason, Abdullah is one of five boxing brothers, including Amir, Adel, Abdur-Rahman, and Ibrahim. “I’ve enjoyed growing with my brothers and my father,” Mason said. “We get the job done based on what we see in the gym and what we see in the fighter.”

Mason also reflected on how their expectation often comes to fruition due to their diligence in camp. He credits the close knit bond of his family and their training methods for his success, while looking forward to stepping up to 10 rounds in the not too distant future.

“We’ve just been focused,” Mason said of his training for the upcoming bout. “Training in the gym prepares you to be under those lights. So, we’ve been preparing. Every time we step in the ring, we’re preparing to step under those lights.”