Abdullah Mason says he is ready for next challenge after title retention

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CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 01: Abdullah Mason looks on prior to the game between the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Sean Finucane/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images Following his 12th round stoppage over the weekend, Abdullah Mason shared some of his immediate reaction to what transpired, how he’s feeling, and where he’s looking to go from here now that he’s successfully retained his WBO title. Here’s some of what he had to say below. Mason on if he thought the fight was over after the second knockdown “It was early in the round so even if he got back up, I definitely would’ve had more to put him down again.” On who he wants to fight next “Anybody. I got an appetite for smoke, like I said. So we going to see. But I’m ready, for sure.” On having to buckle down and up his intensity, but also show some maturity “Trust me, if that was anybody else it probably would’ve been over in seven, eight, nine [rounds]…My main thing, like I said, is just trusting in my corner. I feel like I was up and I was hitting him and he wasn’t returning the same shots that I was giving him, so I didn’t feel the pressure or feel the need to really take those certain risks. But in the end I said ‘ok, let me make something happen.’ “As soon as I made that decision in my head, I flipped the switch and got it done.” On being the youngest world champion in boxing “It feels great. We’ve been putting in the work and it shows where I could go with it.”