Lightweight contender Abdullah Mason (18-0, 16 KOs) faces the hard-hitting Jeremia Nakathilia (26-4, 21 KOs) in a 10-round chief support bout on the undercard of WBO 135-lb champion Keyshawn Davis’ defense against Edwin De Los Santos on ESPN at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia.

Some fans on social media aren’t familiar with Nakathilia and view this fight as an easy slam-dunk win for Mason. It wouldn’t be a huge shock if he defeats Mason, though, because he’s already been dropped and looked shaky.

Nakathilia’s Power

Using Nakathilia could be something that Top Rank regrets if he can land something big on Mason and knock him out. He’ll have 10 rounds to try and hurt him. Mason has shown to have a weak chin. That’s not how you can afford to be against a fighter like Nakathilia because he’ll knock you out.

Keith Idec reports the news of Mason fighting Nakathilia in the co-feature bout. If Nakathilia can land his shots on the fight, he’s got a good chance of winning. Mason, 21, has never fought a puncher with the kind of power that Nakathilia possesses. For Top Rank, choosing to take a chance with Mason by putting them in with him could be a big mistake.

The fight was initially offered to unbeaten, highly ranked contender Floyd Schofield Jr., but his dad said they wanted $2.5 million. That figure obviously would never work for Mason’s promoters. He’s not a champion or a PPV star. If Top Rank had unlimited funds, they’d have met Schofield’s price because he would have been a much better opponent for Mason.

Fans know of the 35-year-old Nakathilia for his fights against Shakur Stevenson, Raymond Muratalla, Ernesto Mercado, and Miguel Berchelt. Nakathilia lost to all of those fighters except for Berchelt. He stopped him in six rounds in March 2022. Nakathilia has first-class punching power still.

Nakathilia’s advanced age and the way his career has gone downhill since 2021 suggest that he’s going to have problems against Mason.