It’s Independence Day in America, and Cleveland is getting a boxing card that actually matches the occasion — two unbeaten world champions on the same stage, both defending their titles on the same night, in the same building, in the same city where they grew up.
Abdullah Mason and Bruce Carrington headline Top Rank’s “The Fight” series tonight at the Wolstein Center, live on TNT Sports and DAZN. And for anyone who’s been paying attention to the lightweight and featherweight divisions, this card has the feel of a coming-out party.
The Main Event: Mason vs Bell — An All-Ohio Chess Match
Abdullah Mason (20-0, 17 KO) was supposed to fight Joe Cordina. That would have been a legitimate test against a former champion with real pedigree. But Cordina pulled out, and in steps Albert Bell (28-0, 9 KO) — unbeaten, awkward, and fighting on the kind of short notice that either produces a career-best performance or a quick exit.
I’ve gone back and forth on this one all week. On paper, Mason is the more talented fighter. He’s 22, explosive, and coming off the kind of win over Lewis Noakes that separates prospects from contenders. His left hand is sharp, his footwork is precise, and when he hurts you, he doesn’t let you recover. That’s a rare instinct — the kind I broke down in my preview of the Zayas-Ennis card a couple of weeks ago.
But Bell is 28-0 for a reason. He’s rangy — a legitimate 5’11” lightweight with a 73-inch reach — and he fights the kind of messy, half-step-back style that’s designed to frustrate young power punchers. He’s not going to stand in front of Mason and trade. He’s going to flick the jab, take angles, and make Mason work for every clean connection.
The question is whether Mason has the patience to break him down.
I think he does. Mason’s body attack is the key — if he commits to the torso early, Bell’s legs will slow, his reach advantage shrinks, and the stoppage comes in the championship rounds. If he gets impatient and hunts the head, Bell could nick rounds and make it ugly.
Prediction: Mason by TKO in Round 9, after a competitive first half.
Co-Feature: Carrington vs Palacios — The Independence Belt
Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (17-0) defends his WBC featherweight title against Rene “Zurdo” Palacios (19-0) in a fight that’s somehow both a showcase and a legitimate risk.
The WBC has created a special “Independence Belt” for the occasion — commemorating 250 years of American independence. It’s a nice touch, but the fight itself doesn’t need the gimmick. Carrington is a polished operator: technically sound, fundamentally clean, and defensively responsible. Palacios is the opposite — a Mexican southpaw who fights forward and takes chances.
That contrast makes this fight. Carrington’s discipline against Palacios’s aggression. My money is on Carrington to outbox him over twelve rounds, but Palacios has the power to flip the script if Carrington gets careless.
Prediction: Carrington by unanimous decision.
Boots Ennis Enters the P4P Picture
It’s been a week since Jaron “Boots” Ennis dropped Xander Zayas three times and stopped him in the seventh round to capture the WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles. And now the rankings are starting to reflect what many of us already knew — Ennis belongs in the pound-for-pound conversation. I wrote the full fight breakdown last week if you want the round-by-round details.
ESPN moved him up to No. 8 in their latest P4P rankings. CBS Sports put him at No. 7. The Ring officially inducted him at No. 9. And more importantly, the fight everyone wants — Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr. — is looking more realistic than ever.
Ortiz has been calling for it. Ennis has been calling for it. The only real obstacle was a legal dispute between Ortiz’s manager and promoter, but that appears to be resolved. If this fight gets made before the end of 2026, it’s genuinely the best fight in the sport at 154 pounds — maybe in any division. And it feeds into a wider P4P debate I explored when we asked why Bam Rodriguez wasn’t getting his flowers.
I wrote about Ennis vs Zayas before the fight, and I said then that this was a career-defining moment for both men. Ennis answered every question. He took Zayas’s best shots, he adjusted mid-fight, and he closed the show in spectacular fashion. That’s not just a highlight-reel win — that’s the mark of a fighter who’s ready for the next level.
Filipino Corner: Busy Times for Pinoy Boxing
If you’re Filipino like me and you’ve been feeling like local boxing has gone quiet — don’t worry, there’s plenty coming. I touched on the Pinoy fight scene a few weeks ago when we had Ancajas in action, and the momentum hasn’t slowed down.
Japet “Principe Red” Enano (8-2, 3 KO) challenges Tyler Blizzard for the IBF Pan Pacific featherweight title on July 10 in Brisbane, Australia. It’s a tough ask — Blizzard is undefeated and fighting at home — but Enano has the style to make it competitive if he can keep the pressure on.
More intriguing is the July 25 triple-header of Pinoy action: Robert “Inggo” Paradero fights ex-IBF world champion Rene Mark “Might Mouse” Cuarto for the PBF Silver flyweight title — a genuine all-Filipino showdown with bragging rights on the line. And undefeated James Clarion is heading to Kanazawa, Japan to challenge for a regional title.
That’s three meaningful Filipino fights in three weeks. Not bad for a sport that’s supposedly in decline back home.
The Rest of the News
Two cancellations worth noting: Tony Yoka is out of his July 11 WBA “regular” heavyweight title clash with Murat Gassiev due to a back injury, leaving the Russian card in limbo. And Canelo Alvarez’s title defense against Christian Mbilli has been pushed to late October, per Ring Magazine — Riyadh scheduling, as usual.
On the brighter side, Tyson Fury vs. Mariusz Wach is officially set for July 24 in Thailand, a tune-up ahead of the long-awaited Anthony Joshua fight — though the whole heavyweight picture just reshuffled after Usyk walked away from his belts. And the June 27 Zuffa Boxing card gave us Edwin De Los Santos’s camp filing an appeal over his second-round KO loss to Jose Valenzuela — which I suspect won’t go anywhere, but it tells you how much that loss stung.
Bottom Line
Tonight’s Mason-Bell card is a genuine treat — two young unbeaten world champions from the same city, defending their titles on the same night, on America’s 250th birthday. That doesn’t happen often. And with Boots Ennis crashing the P4P party, Filipino fighters queuing up for July action, and Fury-Joshua finally creeping closer to reality, the second half of 2026 is shaping up to be something special.
Enjoy the fights tonight. I know I will.