Right Then — The Talking’s Nearly Over
Right then, the weights are in and there’s nothing left to say. Mason stepped on the scales at a bang-on 135lbs, Bell came in a whisker under at 134.9lbs, and both unbeaten Ohioans are locked and loaded for tonight’s WBO lightweight world title fight at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland. Make no mistake — this is a proper fight to headline the debut of ‘The Fight’, the new series going out live on TNT, truTV and DAZN.
When two undefeated men make weight this comfortably and stare each other down without blinking, you know neither one fancies backing up. Ring walks for the main event are penned in for somewhere around 10:15pm Eastern. Clear your evening.
The Champion: Levels Of Power
Let’s not beat around the bush — Mason is the story here. Twenty wins, seventeen knockouts, and the youngest world champion in the sport after he outboxed Sam Noakes for this belt back in November. At 22 he’s a southpaw with real spite in both hands, and making weight without a hint of drama tells you the body’s in the right place. This is his first defence, on home Ohio soil, and he’ll want to announce himself all over again.
What’s brilliant about Mason is how little he wastes. He doesn’t chase, he doesn’t panic — he waits, he lines you up, and then the finish arrives. That’s frightening in a lad this young.
The Challenger: Awkward, Unbeaten, Dangerous
Now don’t you dare sleep on Bell. He’s 28-0, he’s a Toledo man, and he came in when Joe Cordina’s visa fell through — but a late replacement he is not in spirit. Only nine stoppages on that ledger tells you everything: Bell is a boxer, rangy and awkward, a fella who wants to make it long, technical and thoroughly miserable for the champion.
The danger for Mason is exactly that. If Bell can bank the early rounds behind a busy jab, drag it into deep water and take the champ off his rhythm, the upset is live. Weigh-in stare-downs don’t win fights, but the challenger did not look one bit overawed.
Where This One Turns
For me it’s tempo versus timing. If Mason walks him down early and lands that left hand clean, Bell’s night gets very short. If Bell keeps it at range and frustrates the young champion into forcing it, we’re in for a proper chess match. The champion is levels above in power; the challenger has the miles and the craft. Something gives.
My Prediction
I’m not sitting on the fence. Bell will have his moments in the middle rounds — he’s far too good not to — but Mason is on a different planet right now. I fancy the champion to wear him down and get the stoppage around the eighth or ninth as Bell’s legs start to go. Mason vs Bell ends with the youngest champ in boxing making a statement in front of his own. If you know, you know.