Abdullah Mason’s WBO Title Bid Questioned By Keyshawn Davis Due To Sam Noakes’ Power

Keyshawn Davis says he’s unsure if Abdullah Mason can defeat Sam Noakes to capture his recently stripped WBO lightweight title on November 22nd. Davis questions whether the 21-year-old Mason (19-0, 17 KOs can deal with the physical power that Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs) possesses.

Davis was stripped of his WBO 135-lb title on Jun 6th when he came in 4.3 lbs over the lightweight limit for his title defense against Edwin De Los Santos. The vacant WBO belt will now be fought over by #1 Mason and #2 Noakes.

Some boxing fans believe that Keyshawn intentionally missed weight because he didn’t want to hold onto his WBO title and have to fight #1 ranked Mason and get exposed. Now, he doesn’t want to say anything good about himself because it would downplay his accomplishments by praising him. It’s predictable. I saw this coming a mile away.

Abdullah vs. Noakes will be fighting on the undercard of David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde on November 22nd at the ANB Arena in Riyadh. The event will be shown on DAZN PPV.

“I’ve got to do some more studying on Sam. I watched one fight. I saw he’s got some tweaks in him, but I know he can hit hard. As a fighter, you just know that he can punch,” said Keyshawn Davis to Ariel Helwani’s channel when asked if Abdullah Mason will capture his recently stripped WBO lightweight title against Sam Noakes on November 22nd.

Noakes does have huge power in his right hand that could give Abdullah problems if he lands it. The negative is that he’s slow, robotic, and he telegraphs his punches. Noakes only has power in his right hand, and he makes it obvious when he’s loading up on that shot. He hasn’t fought anyone good yet, as he’s been fighting in the UK his entire career against domestic-level scrubs.

“Skillfully, Abdullah is definitely better, but skills don’t always win fights. Physically, it’s Sam all the way. Skillfully, it’s Abdullah all the way. I got to watch more tape on Sam because I’m not sure he’s going to beat him. At the same time, I’m not going to go, ‘Abdullah is going to beat Sam,’” said Davis.