Abdullah Mason will face Manuel Jaimes next month on Valentine’s Day, February 14, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Chin Check
This is a step back for the 20-year-old Mason (16-0, 14 KOs), who struggled in his last fight against Yohan Vasquez, getting knocked out twice in the first round on November 8 in Norfolk, Virginia.
Mason vs. Jaimes will be fighting on the undercard of Denys Berinchyk vs. Keyshawn Davis. They will be fighting on the first card broadcast by ESPN+ rather than the main card on ESPN. The fight on the card is undefeated junior middleweight Xander Zayas (20-0, 12 KOs) against Slawa Spomer (20-0, 11 KOs) in a 10-round fight.
Top Rank isn’t taking any chances with Mason, so they opted for a softer punch in Jaimes (16-2-1, 11 KOs), who is coming off a wide range of ten-round split decisions over the former WBA light welterweight champion in September. 14 last year.
It’s been a busy year for the 5’9″ southpaw Mason in 2024, fighting four times and knocking everyone out. Before his last fight against Vasquez, 30, from the Dominican Republic (26-6, 21 KOs), Mason had talked about fighting for a world title in 2025.
However, after being cut repeatedly by Vasquez’s left in their fight last November, Mason stopped talking about fighting for a world title. Now he knows he needs more time before he’s ready, and he might not get there as his chin continues to betray him. Floyd Schofield Sr. she revealed that her son hurt Mason by breaking up.
Mason needs to be less aggressive and pick his spots when opening his case. He doesn’t have the chin to fight the way he does, going out for knockouts.
Manuel Jaimes Challenge
Jaimes, 24, looked slow and weak in his loss to Rolly Romero, so he’s not a threat to Mason. As long as Abdullah doesn’t leave himself open by throwing uppercuts over and over again, he should be able to defeat Jaimes with no problems. It will be interesting to see if he can take him out because he showed a good chin in his fight with Rolly.
If Mason moves up to the lightweight division, he will have a lot of trouble fighting at 140 or 147 if his punch resistance doesn’t improve.
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