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Mason vows to “cook” Noakes in a brief, brutal WBO shootout

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Image: Abdullah Mason Promises to “Cook” Sam Noakes in a Short, Savage Shootout That Could Upstage the Entire Riyadh Card

Abdullah Mason says he will “cook” in his fight for the vacant WBO lightweight title against No. 2 Sam Noakes on Saturday night in their undercard slot at the ANB Arena in Riyad.

Mason (19-0, 17 KO) wants this fight to be a war and feels he has enough skills to defeat the powerful Noakes (17-0, 15 KO). The stakes of this fight are very high. Winning the WBO lightweight title would open the way for the winner to lucrative fights with Shakur Stevenson and potentially Gervonta Davis if he shows pre-retirement ambition.

Why this one steals the show

“This might be the highlight of the night,” commentator Todd Grisham said DAZN about Saturday’s fight between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes for the vacant WBO lightweight title.

There is a very good chance that Mason-Noakes will distract from the headliner and other fights on Saturday. Only on paper, Mason and Noakes promise to be more fascinating fights than those on the card.

Mason (21) and Noakes will be giving their all in this fight. They both know they can’t afford to box because their opponent will be fighting for a knockout.

“They know someone is going to fall. A lot of power in both players. They are guys who can punch challenging,” said Sergio Mora. “Abdullah Mason, he’s towering, skinny, but he’s fallen before. Someone gets knocked out.”

Readiness for war is in Noakes and Mason’s DNA. One of these fighters will be knocked out and there is a chance it will end early, within four rounds. They both have too much firepower not to end sooner.

Mason’s appetite for smoke

“We’ll be cooking tomorrow night. I’m craving a cigarette,” Mason said.

The concern with Mason is that he wasn’t prepared for the type of opponent he would face in Noakes. Abdullah’s promoters at Top Rank pitted him against delicate opponents throughout his four-year professional career. So this is a huge step up.

“Power and strength,” Noakes said Queensberry when asked what advantage he had over Mason. “Of course he is a very good boxer, but we will see on Saturday. I think I will shock a lot of people on Saturday night and I think there will be some respect for my name after that.”

Noakes adds power

Noakes has the power advantage in this fight. But what makes Mason hazardous is his uppercuts and long range. He goes crazy with his uppercuts and isn’t afraid to risk getting cut. The long, looping shots he throws make it challenging for opponents to track the angle of incoming fire.

“I feel like after this I will gain a huge fan base in the UK. Maybe even bigger than my fan base in the US,” Abdullah said. “I hear how committed they are to boxing and how much they love the sport. The stadiums are always packed. For me to get some of those fans on Saturday would be huge for me. It’s a great opportunity for me to get those fans.”

British stardom in Mason’s mind

For Mason to become a star in the UK, he would have to fight there regularly. It’s not enough for him to simply beat Noakes and expect him to become a national star overnight.

If he stays at the top long enough, like Canelo Alvarez, British fans will want to see him fight in gigantic numbers. It’s still too early to know whether Abdullah will be a long-term fighter in the sport and whether he’ll be able to compete above 135 pounds at 140 and 147. It’s not a good sign that Mason is already suffering from injuries against weaker fighters who aren’t top-shelf.

Last update: 21/11/2025

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Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap

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"Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap"

World Boxing News provides results and updates as Liam Davies faces Nathaniel Collins in the main event at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham.

Davies and Collins collide over 12 rounds for the EBU European featherweight title at the top of the Queensberry Promotions card.

Luke McCormack faces Kay Prospere for the vacant British super lightweight title, while Bradley Goldsmith takes on Amir Abubaker for the IBF International middleweight title.

WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.


Results

All times are local BST.

23:11

Gerome Warburton defeated Nathan Heaney for the second time running as the middleweight put an exclamation mark on his first victory.

Heaney walks away from the sport having been an entertainer through a long carer, without reaching the heights of a world title.

22:04

Liam Davies improved to 19-1 after Nathaniel Collins retired at the end of the seventh round due to a cut over his right eye. Collins had also been dropped in the opening round as Davies successfully defended the European featherweight title.

21:22

Bradley Goldsmith improved to 17-1 with a seventh-round stoppage of Amir Abubaker to retain his IBF International middleweight title. Abubaker went down in the fourth and three times in the seventh before the finish at 2:42.

20:10

Lewis Richardson improved to 3-0 with a shutout six-round points victory over Ivan Trofimovich, earning a 60-54 decision.

19:56

Luke McCormack moved to 6-0 and claimed the vacant British super lightweight title with a tenth-round knockout of Kay Prospere, who was counted out after a right uppercut at 1:28.

18:55

Michael Hussain moved to 5-0 with a four-round points victory over Nabil Ahmed, earning a 39-38 decision.

18:11

Nelson Birchall moved to 12-0 with a third-round stoppage of Lewis Morris, who went down before the finish came at 1:12. Lasha Guruli also remained unbeaten at 5-0 after edging Hughie Wilson 77-75 over eight rounds.

17:22

Early action saw John Tom Varey and Reese Lynch claim four-round victories to move to 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.


TV Coverage

DAZN provides full worldwide coverage.

Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing

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"Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing"

Janibek Alimkhanuly spent months trying to get Hamzah Sheeraz into the ring. Now that Sheeraz has vacated his WBO super middleweight title, Janibek is asking fans to stop saying the former champion ran from him. That is generous. It also leaves Janibek with less to say about a fight he wanted badly.

Janibek’s tone has changed since the purse bid. He was eager to fight, said money was not his priority, and publicly pushed Sheeraz to accept. Queensberry then bid $1,001,809 to stage the ordered defense, beating Top Rank’s $820,000 offer. Sheeraz’s 75 percent share would have been roughly $751,000. Days later, he gave up the belt.

That sequence deserves a closer look. Queensberry put a serious number on the fight, so the bid itself cannot be dismissed as proof that nobody valued it. But winning the right to promote a title defense means little to fans when the champion vacates before it happens.

Sheeraz has objected to Janibek receiving a mandatory shot after his failed drug test. He is entitled to explain that position. Fans are equally entitled to ask why the issue reached a purse bid before he surrendered the title. Janibek’s post supplies no answer.

Perhaps Janibek sees no benefit in branding Sheeraz a coward. Doing so would also make the opponent he chased sound less valuable. Calling Sheeraz a great fighter preserves the idea that this was an important contest, even after the belt and the fight slipped away.

The respect between them may be sincere. Janibek still gets no Sheeraz fight, and Sheeraz no longer has to defend his title against Janibek. A friendly photo does not change either result.

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Boxing 24/7 Wire

Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.

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Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

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Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

Virginia has given World Boxing News its final answer on whether Prichard Colón’s last professional defeat can still be challenged, bringing an end to WBN’s long fight to have the result annulled and removed from his record.

WBN has pursued the possibility of changing the controversial disqualification defeat to Terrel Williams, with those efforts continuing following Colón’s death at age 33.

Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation previously explained that a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the result.

WBN pressed Eric Beidel, Communications & Digital Media Manager for the Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation, on whether any avenue remained to challenge the decision.

“And on that final question … as mentioned before, a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the results,” Beidel graciously responded after providing WBN with transparent answers throughout the investigation.

“In addition, a complaint about a regulatory violation must be filed within three years of the alleged violation.”

The Colón-Williams fight took place on October 17, 2015, meaning that deadline expired years ago.

Virginia Closes Appeal Route

Virginia’s response also addressed whether the result could instead be challenged through an appeal.

“The Administrative Process Act (APA) does create appeal rights to case decisions, but because DPOR never received a complaint in this instance, there was no case or decision that could be appealed under the APA.”

The deadline for filing a complaint about a regulatory violation has expired, while the absence of an original complaint means there is no case decision available to appeal under the APA.

For WBN, Virginia’s response ends a long fight to have the defeat annulled and removed from Colón’s professional record.

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WBN’s Fight for Prichard Colón

It is no secret that WBN and Prichard were close before the most tragic night of his career ended all contact and left us on the outside for the years leading up to his death.

That never stopped WBN from reporting on Prichard, campaigning for change and hoping lessons from what happened to him could help prevent another fighter and family from enduring the same tragedy.

Virginia’s final response may end WBN’s attempts to have the result changed, but it does not end our commitment to Prichard.

Prichard Colón will not be forgotten.

WBN will continue to keep his name alive whenever and wherever possible with the WBN Boxer Pageand push to ensure his fight for life and everything that happened in its aftermath are never allowed to simply disappear from boxing’s memory.

This investigation ends here, but Prichard’s story does not.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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