WBO lightweight titleholder Abdullah Mason will make the first defense of his world title against former IBF junior lightweight champion Joe Cordina on Saturday, July 4 at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, promoters announced Tuesday. The card headlines the debut event of The Fight, a new monthly boxing series from TNT Sports and DAZN.

The event is promoted by Top Rank in association with Matchroom Boxing and will air co-exclusively in the United States on TNT and DAZN, with a worldwide stream on DAZN. The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 8 at 12 p.m. ET via Ticketmaster.

Mason Returns Home as WBO Champion

Mason (20-0, 17 KOs) won the WBO lightweight title last November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a stoppage of previously unbeaten Sam Noakes. The 21-year-old Cleveland native fought four times in 2025, including a fifth-round stoppage of Namibian veteran Jeremia Nakathila in June, before capturing the vacant belt against Noakes.

“July 4th is the homecoming that my brothers and I have been anticipating since before we turned pro,” Mason said in a press release issued by Top Rank. “I’m ready to experience all of my city’s support in one building.”

Top Rank President Todd duBoef said in the release that Cordina has “the Olympic and professional experience to take him into deep waters.”

Cordina Targets Second Weight Class

Cordina (19-1, 9 KOs), a 2016 Olympian for Great Britain, won the IBF junior lightweight title in 2022 with a second-round knockout of Kenichi Ogawa. He was stripped of the belt before his first defense due to a hand injury, regained it with a decision over Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov in 2023, and lost it to Anthony Cacace last May. He has since posted wins over Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz and Gabriel Flores Jr.

“Abdullah Mason is a very good fighter, and he’s going to do big things in boxing, but I’m going to mess up the homecoming,” Cordina said in the release. “I’m looking to come over, rip the title away from him, and take it back to the U.K.”

Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn said Cordina “showed in California that he’s not afraid to fight in hostile territory.”

Carrington Defends Featherweight Title

The co-feature pairs WBC featherweight titleholder Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (17-0, 10 KOs) of Brownsville, Brooklyn, against Mexican challenger Rene Palacios (19-0-1, 10 KOs). Carrington won the interim WBC belt in July 2025 with a decision over Mateus Heita and was elevated to full champion after a ninth-round stoppage of Carlos Castro in January.

Palacios earned the title shot with a decision over Sulaiman Segawa, a common opponent. “I made a promise to my mother that one day I would become a world champion, and I’m going to keep it,” Palacios said in the release.

Tiger Johnson, Davis Round Out Televised Card

Cleveland native and 2020 U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson (17-0, 8 KOs) faces unbeaten Christopher Guerrero (16-0, 9 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight bout. Johnson moved up from 140 pounds last year and most recently stopped Nicklaus Flauz in four rounds in November. Guerrero, a Mexican-born resident of Montreal, makes his United States debut.

The televised opener features unbeaten lightweight Deric “Scooter” Davis (11-0, 10 KOs) against Carlos Ramos (18-4-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round contest. The undercard also includes separate four-round bouts for two of Mason’s brothers, lightweight Abdurrahman Mason (2-0, 2 KOs) and super featherweight Ibrahim Mason (2-0, 2 KOs).

According to Top Rank, The Fight will air monthly on TNT Sports and DAZN platforms in the U.S. and worldwide on DAZN, with supplementary content distributed across Bleacher Report and House of Highlights.