Abdullah Mason did what everyone expected him to do for 40-odd seconds, then Yohan Vasquez suddenly did what nobody saw coming – and so began the BoxingScene Round of the Year.
On November 8 in Norfolk, Virginia, Mason, dressed in bright green trunks with matching boots, popped his southpaw jab, found a home for his left cross and seemed to be easing through the gears in Round 1. Vasquez, sporting a clump of hair on the back of his otherwise shaved head, dutifully followed the young prospect, hoping for an opportunity to present itself.
Mason – a huge favorite – then swung a little too deliberately as he attempted to craft a swirling uppercut with his left arm. But the southpaw showed too much of his chin, and Vasquez realized his opportunity had come. He fired a sharp counter right that caught Mason as he was leaning back. The man everyone was already proclaiming a future world champion was on the mat.
Vasquez, as surprised as anyone, let out a cheer as he strutted backwards towards the neutral corner, but Mason – stunned but far from hurt – regained verticality almost immediately. The youngster smiled and popped out his tongue but failed to hide his embarrassment.
Upon resumption of combat, Mason again attacked somewhat carelessly, too keen to prove the knockdown was a fluke. Vasquez stayed close and landed another hard right hand that seemed to make Mason’s legs dip. But in the blink of an eye, Mason fired the left uppercut again – and this time it hit the target. At 90 seconds of the opening round, Vasquez was flat on his back.
Vasquez got up, but his left leg had been hurt in the fall. He limped backwards before indicating he wanted to continue. Mason sensed the finish and injected full power into each blast he constructed. Rat-a-tat attacks followed, and Vasquez, clamping down on the canvas as best he could, tried to stand tall. The end looked nigh as hooks and uppercuts bounced from the underdog’s head. Mason positioned his foe in the corner and, as he prepared to apply the finishing touches, a perfect left hand from Vasquez caught Mason coming in, and down he went again.
He did not stay on the floor for long, however. As Mason took the eight-count, bouncing up and down, showcasing his clear head, Vasquez leant against the corner post and checked his left leg.
The remaining minute of the session was dull when compared to what came before. Mason, lessons banked from his previous overexuberance, stayed at a safer distance and controlled the action. The 20-year-old would have to wait until Round 2 for his knockout win inside Norfolk’s Scope Arena. But what occurred in the opening two minutes of this lightweight tussle will live long in the memory.
Honorable mention: Oleksandr Usyk-Tyson Fury (Round 9, May 18)
At the end of Round 7, there looked like only one winner in the much-anticipated world heavyweight championship showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. England’s Fury was bossing the action in Saudi Arabia, even briefly wobbling Ukraine’s Usyk in the fourth and sixth.
But Usyk, as is his custom, had worked his way back in the eighth. What then transpired with 30 seconds remaining in the ninth will forever be the defining sight of their rivalry. Usyk, up close, walked through a somewhat lazy combination from Fury to unleash his reply. His right was quickly followed by a left that snapped the head of Fury. An accurate barrage followed, and as Usyk stepped back it became clear that his rival was in deep trouble. Fury sagged to the ropes and, as his head momentarily rolled back, Usyk jumped him.
Fury tried to hold on, his long legs disobeying him in the most unbecoming fashion. Usyk untied himself from Fury’s arms and cracked him again. Fury careered backwards, stopped only by the ropes. The pattern continued until the Brit, after doing a lap of the entire ring on the unsteadiest of legs, eventually all but collapsed in a corner. As he gamely clawed at the ropes to stop himself from going down, the referee administered a standing count. The bell then sounded, and those watching attempted to catch their breath.
Honorable mention: Ray Ford-Otabek Kholmatov (Round 12, March 2)
Behind on two cards going into the 12th, Ray Ford needed a KO to snag the WBA featherweight strap from Otabek Kholmatov. He got it, too, with just seven seconds of the fight remaining when the exhausted titleholder was rescued by the referee.
Others: Deok No Yun-Tyson Koki (Round 1); Caleb Plant-Trevor McCumby (Round 9); Tyrone McKenna-Dylan Moran (Round 2); Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol (Round 10); Steve McKenna-Joe Laws (Round 1).
Matt Christie, a lifelong fight fan, has worked in boxing for more than 20 years. He left Boxing News in 2024 after 14 years, nine of which were spent as Editor-in-Chief. Before that, he was the producer of weekly boxing show, KOTV. Now the co-host of The Opening Bell podcast and regularly used by Sky Sports in the UK as a pundit, Matt was named as the Specialist Correspondent of the Year at the prestigious Sports Journalism Awards in 2021, which was the seventh SJA Award he accepted during his stint in the hot seat at Boxing News. The following year he was inducted into the British Boxing Hall of Fame, he’s a member of the BWAA and has been honored several times in their annual writing awards.