Shakur Stevenson Says Abdullah Mason Is “not Ready” For Him

Shakur Stevenson says WBO lightweight champion Abdullah Mason isn’t “ready” to fight him. He claims that there are “levels,” and he believes that at 21, Mason (20-0, 17 KOs) isn’t ready.

“There Are Levels”

Stevenson didn’t like Abdullah’s recent performance, beating Sam Noakes by a 12-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBO lightweight title on November 22nd. He felt that Mason got hit too much in that fight, and he doesn’t like the idea of him being in wars that early in his career.

It’s performances like that one that is making Mason one of the most popular fighters in the 135-lb division. He can headline cards fighting like that. In contrast, Shakur is 28 and has been fighting on undercards due to his boring hit-and-not-get-hit style of fighting.

“They’re throwing him onto me. I’m cool with it. I’ll give him an opportunity,” said Shakur Stevenson to Cigar Talk about how he would agree to fight Abdullah Mason. “I’ve been saying that he and I could rumble.”

Mason would likely beat everyone that Shakur has fought during his eight-year pro career and have a more impressive record. Shakur is 24-0 with 11 knockouts. If Mason fought the same guys, his record could be close to perfect with a 24-0 record with 24 knockouts.

Shakur Says Mason Isn’t Ready

“Now, do I think he’s ready? No. He’s young,” said Shakur about Mason. “There are levels to how good he’s going to be and how good he is now. I actually didn’t like it,” said Shakur when asked if he was impressed with Abdullah’s performance against Sam Noakes.

It’s unlikely that would agree to fight Mason because it would be a risky one for him that would wreck his career.

“Being as young as he is to be in that type of war, I just think it wasn’t that good. I didn’t see a lot of things that I liked. I liked his offense. Offensively, he’s a hell of a fighter. I think he’s got a lot of holes in his game. He’s a good fighter, though,” said Shakur.