Tim Bradley: Abdullah Mason Showed What Bruce Carrington Didn’t

“He showed us something that we was looking for in Shu Shu Carrington,” said Bradley during TNT Sports’ post-fight show. “We was looking for Shu Shu to go into that next gear. But he never did.”

Bradley said Mason recognized that his original game plan wasn’t producing the result he wanted and made the necessary adjustments down the stretch.

“Abdullah showed us what it is, how to turn it up. He turned the fight up. He started going to the body. He did something different. One thing wasn’t working, so he went to the next thing. And that’s how he got the victory tonight.”

Bell had success during the first half of the fight, landing right hands and forcing Mason to solve problems he hadn’t faced in many of his previous bouts. According to the official scorecards, Mason trailed after six rounds on two of the three judges’ cards before sweeping the final five rounds and stopping Bell at 45 seconds of the 12th.

Bradley said the performance showed growth from the 22-year-old champion.

“We saw a young man grow tonight. He came out a little hesitant because of the size, because of the height and that straight right hand. The corner gave his son everything tonight and his son went out and implemented it all.”

The former two-division world champion was equally impressed with Mason’s stamina and determination after making the adjustments.

“That grit and that determination at the highest level. You put it on top of the skill and the punching power. This young man is going to be a superstar in the game,” said Bradley.