Abdullah Mason’s Call For Emiliano Vargas Clash: Will His Power Outweigh Defensive Flaws In A Potential Blockbuster?

Lightweight contender Abdullah Mason is already thinking about a fight between him and the popular 140-lb prospect Emiliano Vargas for what he feels will be a “huge fight in the future.”

The son of former 154-lb champion Ferando Vargas, Emilano Vargas (13-0, 11 KOs) is quickly gaining popularity with fans with his power and fast knockouts. Only 20, Emiliano has a lot of time to continue progressing. A fight between him and Abdullah Mason will be a massive one in a few years if both guys keep winning.

Future Fight?

“For him to say that after I got dropped twice in November [by Yohan Vasquez], where I stopped the [*injured, one-legged] guy in the next round [2nd], it kind of shows you where I am as a fighter. They needed that to know something or to gain confidence in themselves,” said Abdullah Mason to The Ring Magazine.

“For sure, that’s exactly what that was,” said Mason when asked if Emiliano Vargas needed to see him get dropped twice to get confidence in himself to want to fight him. “Nobody said anything about any type of fight. We know he’s got his people [fanbase], and I have my people. That would be a huge fight in the future.”

It was a bad sign seeing Mason get dropped twice by journeyman Yohan Vasquez on November 8th last year. It confirmed what Floyd Schofield’s father had said about Abdullah being chinny and unable to take a good shot without getting wobbled. Still, Mason has excellent punching power, and if he focuses on his defense, a clash between him and Emiliano Vargas would be the one to make.

Mason (17-0, 15 KOs) just turned 21 and is considered the next superstar in the 135 lb division. With the lightweight division lacking in stars, Abdullah must move up in weight to get the big-money fights against Vargas.

Mason fights tonight against Carlos Ornelas (28-4, 15 KOs) in a 10-round contest, live on ESPN+ at the Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas. Abdullah must look good in this fight to quiet the criticism that he’s getting from fans.

Sneaky 101

Given Mason’s shaky performance against Vasquez last November, that might be why the Top Rank matchmakers selected the weak-hitting Ornelas from the super featherweight division for Mason to fight rather than picking a lightweight.

That’s sneaky matchmaking 101, but they can’t protect Abdullah Mason forever. If he doesn’t have the chin to fight guys with good power, he will get found out eventually, and the rug will get pulled out from under him. He’ll be like any fragile-chinned hard hitter in the sport, and there’s a whole bunch of them. Right now, Mason has to be viewed as a flawed product.

So, unless Top Rank can shine up this diamond in the rough the way that they did with their clever matchmaking for Keyshawn Davis, he may not pan out as a pro. They turned Keyshawn into a world champion at 135 without him ever fighting a live body. They could do the same with Abdullah, but obviously, that’s not a permanent fix to the problem.