Abdullah Mason, boxing's youngest world champion, is slated to make the first defense of his WBO lightweight world championship when he faces Joe Cordina on July 4 in his home state at Cleveland State's Wolstein Center, Top Rank announced Tuesday.
Mason vs. Cordina takes place as part of TNT Sports and DAZN's monthly "The Fight" event series and will be broadcast on TNT and DAZN co-exclusively in the US and on DAZN Worldwide
The co-main event will see Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington defending his WBC featherweight title against Mexico's Rene Palacios.
Mason (20-0, 17 KOs) won the vacant WBO title when he defeated Sam Noakes by decision in November. It was the first time he had gone the distance since Aug. 2023. He had won his previous nine fights by stoppage.
Cordina (18-1, 9 KOs), the former IBF junior lightweight champion, moved up to the 135-pound division last year after dropping the his 130-pound title to Anthony Cacace in May 2024. The Welshman has since won back-to-back decisions in the lightweight division as he now sets his sights on the 22-year old Abdullah's WBO title.
"July 4th is the homecoming that my brothers and I have been anticipating since before we turned pro," Mason said in a statement. "I'm ready to experience all of my city's support in one building, and I have an appetite for smoke. So if you love boxing and you're ready for some smoke, then the Wolstein on July 4th is the place to be. It's a cookout at the Wolstein, and the clock is ticking. You're all invited to your world champion's first homecoming, and you don't want to miss it."
Fighting out of Brooklyn, Carrington (17-0, 10 KOs) got his first taste of championship gold when he stopped Carlos Castro in January for the vacant WBC featherweight title.
Palacios (19-0-1, 10 KOs) will be the first to try to put an end to his title reign. He's coming off a split decision win over Sulaiman Segawa in January.
