The WBO has officially ordered #1 Sam Noakes to begin negotiations to face #2 Abdullah Mason for the vacant lightweight title. The two fighters have 20 days to put together a deal.
It’s a major step up for Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs), who has been fighting at the domestic level his entire six-year career. He’s ranked #1 with the WBO, but his resume is barren of contenders. There’s not one contender on Noakes’ resume.
WBO Orders Mason-Noakes Lightweight Title Fight
On paper, this is a terrible mismatch in favor of Mason. This fight will make the WBO look bad for having given the unprepared, limited Noakes a #1 ranking without ever proving himself. As an organization, you want to make realistic choices for rankings. Placing Noakes at #1 makes no sense.
The WBO obviously has its reasons for giving Noakes a #1 ranking, but the reality is, he’s not on the level of half of the opponents that Mason has fought in the past. As such, it’s a foregone conclusion that Abdullah (19-0, 17 KOs) will win and be the next WBO lightweight champion.
Fans wanted the WBO to order Abdullah Mason to fight Edwin De Los Santos or Andy Cruz for the vacant 135-lb title, not Noakes. Those two would have been far more worthy opponents for Mason to fight for the vacant title.
Is Mason Too Young for Title?
There is some concern that Mason, 21, is too young to be fighting the 27-year-old Noakes and should wait. Some people believe that even if Abdullah captures the vacant WBO title with a victory, he’s too young to hold down the belt against the wolves that will be coming for him.
Top Rank’s Mason Protection Challenge
Top Rank can’t protect Mason like they’ve been doing with their careful matchmaking once he’s champion. Once he owns the WBO title, there’s going to be a target on his back, and the predators in the lightweight division will be coming for him. Predictably, Top Rank will avoid fighters like Andy Cruz, Raymond Muratalla, Shakur Stevenson, and Gervonta Davis. Mason is too green to fight any of those four fighters.
The WBO title was made vacant after ex-champion Keyshawn Davis missed weight for his title defense against De Los Santos last Friday. Davis came in 4.3 lbs overweight, which some fans felt was an intentional miss on his part to either gain an edge or avoid the fight altogether. Ultimately, the bout was canceled after De Los Santos’ management decided not to go through with it.
The road to the WBO Lightweight Title begins. 🥊
#1 Sam Noakes and #2 Abdullah Mason have 20 days to reach a deal. Negotiations are officially underway.#WBO #LightweightDivision #NewEra pic.twitter.com/qnjoUt2gRi
— WBO (@WorldBoxingOrg) June 12, 2025