Lightweight contender Abdullah Mason (18-0, 16 KOs) celebrated his 21st birthday by scoring a sixth-round technical knockout victory of Carlos Ornelas (28-5, 15 KOs) on Saturday night at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Ornelas was cut over his right eye and dropped in the sixth. At the end of the round, the referee and ringside doctor checked on Ornelas’s condition and decided to halt the match. It was the referee Raul Caiz Jr’s call.
Ornelas’s Heart
The tough Mexican native Ornelas had already been down twice, in rounds two and four. He didn’t have the pop in his punches to worry Mason, and that left him with no chance of turning things around no matter what he did.
Despite being outgunned and outmatched by the much bigger Mason, Ornelas showed a lot of heart, attacking him fiercely each time he was dropped and landing some good shots. He just didn’t have the power in his punches to do any damage.
The much smaller Ornelas was picked out from the super featherweight division to be Mason’s opponent in what appears to have been a calculated move on Top Rank’s part in response to the problems their fighter had last November against Yohan Vasquez.
Abdullah was dropped twice in that fight, and he likely would have continued to get put down if not for Vasquez’s knee injury. Choosing the weak puncher Ornelas made sense Top Rank can’t afford to take chances with their prospect after the issues he had against Vasquez.
Defensive Flaws
Ornelas, 30, was landing, but he couldn’t hurt him because he’s been well-chosen by Top Rank from the 130-lb division. As many times as Mason was hit in this fight, he would have had trouble if he’d been in with a puncher.
The power and size is there for him, but the chin is made of glass. If a fighter can’t take a shot at 21, it’s not going to get better as they age. If anything, it’s going to get worse for Mason, and he’ll be getting decked even by the highest punchers.
Top Rank can’t protect him forever. It doesn’t work in the sport. If he’s lucky, he can follow the Tyson Fury route by beating an old champion on his way out of the sport and then take an easy route for the next seven or eight years the way he did and make a goldmine.
Abdullah leaves himself open too much with the way he loads up on his left hands, especially with his uppercuts. Ornelas tagged Mason with punches when he was throwing widely,
Last Updated on 04/05/2025
