WBO lightweight titleholder Abdullah Mason will make the first defense of his world title against former IBF junior lightweight champion Joe Cordina on Saturday, July 4 at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center, promoters announced Tuesday at a kickoff press conference held at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The card headlines the debut event of The Fight, a new monthly boxing series from TNT Sports and DAZN.
The event is promoted by Top Rank in association with Matchroom Boxing and will air co-exclusively in the United States on TNT and DAZN, with a worldwide stream on DAZN. The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 8 at 12 p.m. ET via Ticketmaster.
Mason was joined at the press conference by Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb, Top Rank Vice President of Boxing Operations Carl Moretti, WBC featherweight titleholder Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington, and 2020 U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson.
Mason Returns Home as WBO Champion
Mason (20-0, 17 KOs) won the WBO lightweight title last November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a stoppage of previously unbeaten Sam Noakes. The 21-year-old Cleveland native fought four times in 2025, including a fifth-round stoppage of Namibian veteran Jeremia Nakathila in June, before capturing the vacant belt against Noakes.
“Just as the fight with Sam Noakes went down, I feel like this fight will set the tone for whatever is going to come next,” Mason said at Tuesday’s press conference. “Me and my brothers in the city of Cleveland, we are putting on for the city. We are making sure that everything we do is big.”
Asked what he has seen from Cordina on tape, Mason said: “He’s definitely a volume puncher. He has some good offense, quick, and has good feet. I would say he’s well rounded in what he does. But everything he does, I do better.”
Cordina Targets Second Weight Class
Cordina (19-1, 9 KOs), a 2016 Olympian for Great Britain, won the IBF junior lightweight title in 2022 with a second-round knockout of Kenichi Ogawa. He was stripped of the belt before his first defense due to a hand injury, regained it with a decision over Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in 2023, and lost it to Anthony Cacace last May. He has since posted wins over Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz and Gabriel Flores Jr.
“The 4th of July is a massive day for America but it’s also a massive day for boxing,” Cordina said. “Abdullah is a good fighter, but I’m looking to come f*** up his homecoming. I’m coming to rip his heart out and bring it back to the UK.”
Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn said in a release that Cordina “showed in California that he’s not afraid to fight in hostile territory.”
Carrington Defends Featherweight Title
The co-feature pairs WBC featherweight titleholder Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (17-0, 10 KOs) of Brownsville, Brooklyn, against Mexican challenger Rene Palacios (19-0-1, 10 KOs). Carrington won the interim WBC belt in July 2025 with a decision over Mateus Heita and was elevated to full champion after a ninth-round stoppage of Carlos Castro in January.
“Every single fight I have is a statement made. I feel like this is one of those things to show people why I am a champion,” Carrington said. “Even though I have this title, a real champion is someone who can defend it successfully.”
Carrington also stated his goal of unifying the division: “At the end of the day, I just want to be the best. And I will be. I will be the first undisputed featherweight champion in this era.”
Palacios earned the title shot with a decision over Sulaiman Segawa, a common opponent. “I made a promise to my mother that one day I would become a world champion, and I’m going to keep it,” Palacios said in a release.
Tiger Johnson, Davis Round Out Televised Card
Cleveland native Tiger Johnson (17-0, 8 KOs) faces unbeaten Christopher Guerrero (16-0, 9 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight bout. Johnson moved up from 140 pounds last year and most recently stopped Nicklaus Flauz in four rounds in November. Guerrero, a Mexican-born resident of Montreal, makes his United States debut.
“It means everything, it’s a dream come true. It’s something I’ve been dreaming of since I was a little kid,” Johnson said of fighting in Cleveland. “In Cleveland, we breed killers. We bring some of the best boxers in history.”
The televised opener features unbeaten lightweight Deric “Scooter” Davis (11-0, 10 KOs) against Carlos Ramos (18-4-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round contest. The undercard also includes separate four-round bouts for two of Mason’s brothers, lightweight Abdurrahman Mason (2-0, 2 KOs) and super featherweight Ibrahim Mason (2-0, 2 KOs).
Cleveland Backing
Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb, who attended Tuesday’s press conference, said the date carries added significance for the city. “I think people don’t realize how Cleveland has influenced boxing and the sport of boxing for years, and now people are starting to notice,” Bibb said. “Especially come July 4th as we not only celebrate 250 years of America, but it’s also Cleveland’s 230th birthday.”
Carl Moretti, Top Rank’s Vice President of Boxing Operations, said the promoter has “a long history of building guys in their hometown” and pointed to the card as a continuation of that pattern.
According to Top Rank, The Fight will air monthly on TNT Sports and DAZN platforms in the U.S. and worldwide on DAZN, with supplementary content distributed across Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.
