Abdullah Mason fulfilled his goal of becoming boxing’s youngest active male world champion, but Sam Noakes made him earn it. The 21-year-old American outlasted England’s Noakes in a grueling slugfest to capture the vacant WBO lightweight title Saturday on the David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde undercard at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Despite being extended past the sixth round for the first time in his pro career, Mason (20-0, 17 KOs) caught a second wind and sprinted to the finish, winning the all-action affair via unanimous decision (117-111, 115-113, 115-113). In doing so, he eclipsed 23-year-old WBO super welterweight champion Xander Zayas as the sport’s youngest male world titleholder.
WHAT A FIGHT! @abdullahmason_ becomes the youngest men’s world champion at 21 years old 🏆
pic.twitter.com/0UcQ1ij6aN— Uncrowned (@uncrownedcombat) November 23, 2025
Mason has long been considered a blue-chip pugilistic prospect — he ranked No. 3 on Uncrowned’s recent list of the top athletes in combat sports under the age of 25 — but the teak-tough Noakes (17-1, 15 KOs) met the challenge head-on Saturday in a bout that tested the new champ unlike any before.
Noakes repeatedly forced the longer, faster Mason to neglect his physical advantages, drawing the American into a clinch fight with his forward pressure, resulting in both men spending long swathes of the bout trading heavy shots on the inside. An inadvertent head clash opened a cut above Noakes’ left eye early in Round 3, but the previously unbeaten Brit was undeterred; he continued working the body and grinding out offense inside the phone-booth confines, banking several early and middle rounds by wearing down Mason with a steady march of body work.
But Mason found a home early and often with darting uppercuts on the inside, and blasted Noakes from with snapping straight punches whenever the two separated. Mason’s best round came in the 10th, when he appeared to badly hurt Noakes with a right uppercut to the liver. Sensing the moment, Mason tried to tee off and topple the Englishman, however Noakes gamely bit down on his gumshield and fired back, ultimately surviving on his feet to hear the bell.
The final punch stats told the story, as Mason landed 214 of 566 of his total punches (38%) while Noakes landed 156 of 613 (25%). Mason also edged Noakes in power punches (158 to 135) and body punches (51 to 39), while just 17 of Noakes 230 jab attempts found their mark.
Noakes entered the contest having captured a variety of regional belts — the British, Commonwealth, European and WBO International titles — on the UK professional scene.
