Troy Isley eases to win as Abdullah Mason steals the night

Tyler Howard marched forward, flinging right hands at Troy Isley in search of a knockout victory in Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday night. The problem for Howard was that it was the 10th round of a scheduled 10, and for the previous nine, Howard had experienced virtually no success with his offense against a disciplined and skilled Isley, who remained unbeaten and inched closer to a middleweight title shot.

The bout was the co-main event to Keyshawn Davis’ clash with Gustavo Lemos at the Scope Arena. The card streamed in the US on ESPN +.

Punch stats told the story of Isley's dominance. The man from nearby Alexandria landed 143 of 460 punches, for a connect percentage of 31.0; Howard landed just 69 of 256, with a healthy plurality of those coming in the final two rounds.

Isley, 14-0 (5 KOs), remained composed throughout, standing in the pocket and peppering Howard with short combinations while giving his opponent little opportunity to return fire. Howard, 20-2 (11 KOs), seemed frozen by Isley's accuracy, movement and defense before finally electing to throw at least some caution to the wind over the final two rounds. But it was far too little, far too late as Isley eased to a unanimous decision by scores of 99-91 (twice) and 98-92.

Earlier, Abdullah Mason advanced his campaign to be anointed Prospect of the Year with an exciting second-round stoppage win over Yohan Vasquez, even as he showed his first hint of potential vulnerability – and the opening frame will certainly earn consideration for Round of the Year. 

That round had barely gotten underway when Mason, 16-0 (14 KOs), was caught by a short left hook that dropped him for the first time in his career. Mason, unhurt, rose swiftly, and soon it was Vasquez's turn to taste the canvas, felled by a powerful Mason uppercut. Vasquez, 26-6 (21 KOs), appeared significantly the more damaged of the two, but as he pressed for the finish, an overeager Mason walked into another hook and was down again. 

Showing veteran poise and focus, Mason shrugged off the knockdowns and resumed his attack in Round 2, switching his focus to Vasquez's body and dropping him for the count with an uppercut to the solar plexus. Official time was 1 minute, 59 seconds of the second round.

“This is boxing! We're making it exciting,” said Mason, who went 5-0 with five KOs in 2024. “I can push through it. He had a lot of hidden things, but I overcame it.”

For five rounds, Yeis Solano, 15-4 (10 KOs), did his best to frustrate Kelvin Davis – elder brother of Keyshawn – in front of Davis’ hometown fans, alternately circling and avoiding exchanges, and leaning against the ropes trying to lure Davis into range of his counters. Davis, however, largely refused to take the bait, sticking to his game plan, slowly squeezing the space out of the ring and working calmly behind a southpaw jab; and after Davis, 14-0 (7 KOs), landed some strong left hands at the end of the fourth and fifth, Solano made somewhat more of an effort to engage in close.

But the effort was somewhat half-hearted, and Davis was able to cruise to a unanimous decision, punctuated by a knockdown with the last punch of the night. Scores were 80-71 and 79-72 (twice).

“He ain't come to fight, so I had to give the crowd something,” Davis said of the knockdown afterward.

Austin DeAnda lost some of his hair – his corner having to slice off his topknot mid-fight when it started falling into his eyes – but the young middleweight retained his unbeaten record via uninspiring unanimous decision over DeAundre Pettus, 12-3 (7 KOs). Scores were 78-74 and 77-75 (twice), moving DeAnda to 16-0 (10 KOs). 

The third Davis brother on the card, junior middleweight Keon, pushed hard for a stoppage in the fourth and final round of his pro debut, but he had to settle for a clear unanimous decision win over Jalen Moore, 1-2 (1 KO). Scores were 40-36 across the board. 

In a junior lightweight contest, touted prospect Robert Meriwether III, 8-0 (4 KOs) remained unbeaten with a comfortable unanimous decision win over Eric Howard, 6-3 (1 KO). Scores were 60-54, 59-54 and 59-55.

The last time Ra'eese Aleem stepped into the ring, he dropped a split decision to Australia's Sam Goodman to lose his unbeaten record and the prospect of a shot at a junior featherweight world title. Goodman will get that shot when he takes on Naoya Inoue in December; meanwhile, Aleem, 21-1 (12 KOs), began his road back to the top against Derlyn Hernandez, and proved several levels too high for his determined but outmatched foe.

Aleem picked Hernandez apart throughout their 10 round featherweight contest, freezing him with feints and hurting him with power shots to head and body, and dropping him in Round 5. Hernandez, 12-3-1 (10 KOs), hung tough and tried to fight his way back into the contest, landing a big overhand right in Round 7, but Aleem was dominant, winning 100-89 on all three cards.

Kieran Mulvaney has written, broadcast and podcasted about boxing for HBO, Showtime, ESPN and Reuters, among other outlets. He also writes regularly for National Geographic, has written several books on the Arctic and Antarctic, and is at his happiest hanging out with wild polar bears. His website is www.kieranmulvaney.com.