Those in the know in boxing believe Top Rank is the best at developing a fighter from their pro debut to a world title shot.

If that continues being the case, Abdullah Mason is in good hands.

Mason, the talented junior lightweight prospect, will face Ronal Ron Saturday night at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. The eight-round bout will take place on the Top Rank undercard that will stream live on ESPN+ (5:50 p.m. ET/ 2:20 p.m. PT).

In his last bout on February 8, Mason (12-0, 10 knockouts), who resides in Cleveland, Ohio, scored a highlight-reel knockout win over Benjamin Grument, who entered the bout unbeaten. The one-punch knockout ended matters in the second round. Less than three months prior to the knockout win over Grument, Mason stopped once-beaten Jose Cardenas, also in the second round. 

Promoter Bob Arum has been impressed with the results and the development of the southpaw Mason, who has stopped seven of his last eight opponents. 

“Abdullah Mason is a tremendous talent,” Arum told The Ring in a recent interview. “He can do everything in the ring. He’s a nice young man with good habits outside the ring. He comes from a great family. He’s really breathtaking in the ring and we anticipate a lot of years of promoting his fights. He can be a major, major star in boxing.”

The 20-year-old Mason has excelled against all types of opponents. Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame last year, has put Mason against boxers or punchers, and those with more fights as a pro or older than him. 

Having dispatched his opposition so easily thus far, the question is asked when Mason will step up the level of opposition. Will Mason fight a contender by the end of the year? When could Mason move up in weight?

Despite Mason’s overwhelming success thus far, Arum is committed to the Top Rank mantra of bringing Mason along until the time is right for him to face more-difficult opposition. 

“He just turned 20 years old, and you can’t forget that he’s a young, young guy,” said Arum. “So, we don’t want to rush him crazily, even though a lot of people say that he could compete with much older guys. There’s no rush with Abdullah.” 

Ron (14-5, 11 KOs), who is originally from Caracas, Venezuela and now resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Chino Hills, is an aggressive puncher who lost a close decision to once-beaten fringe contender John Dato on October 27. 

In his last bout on January 27, the 26-year-old lost by unanimous decision to Gregory Morales. In his most notable bout as a pro in April 2019, Ron lost to Hector Luis Garcia, who would go on to win the WBA world junior lightweight title.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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