(June 26th) What was shaping up to be one of the most anticipated Independence Day boxing cards in recent memory has undergone a dramatic late change after former two-time world champion Joe Cordina was forced to withdraw from his scheduled WBO lightweight title challenge against undefeated champion Abdullah Mason.

On June 24, 2026, Cordina announced via Instagram that he had been denied a U.S. visa and would be unable to travel from the United Kingdom to Cleveland, Ohio, for the July 4 championship bout at the Wolstein Center. The 34-year-old Welshman had been seeking to become a three-time world champion and the first Welsh boxer to win recognized world titles in two weight classes.

In his statement, Cordina stressed that his withdrawal had nothing to do with injury or any issue involving Mason or the promotion.

"Just to let everyone know that I'm not going to fight. It's not injuries. A couple of days back, I went to the U.S. Embassy in London, and they basically denied me a visa. I tried to explain certain things, and I had all the paperwork to back it up, and they wasn't having it. They basically told me, 'You ain't getting in.'"

Cordina added that he was "absolutely gutted" to lose the opportunity to compete for another world championship.

Top Rank Vice President Carl Moretti later confirmed that the promotion had been informed that Cordina's visa application had been denied. A Top Rank official indicated the refusal stemmed from a criminal matter that prevented entry into the United States. On June 25, South Wales Police confirmed that Cordina had been charged with assault and threatening a person with an offensive weapon following an alleged incident on February 27 at the Pentwyn Service Station in Cardiff. Cordina is scheduled to appear before Cardiff Magistrates' Court on July 7. The charges remain pending.

With less than two weeks remaining before fight night, Top Rank moved quickly to preserve the championship event by securing unbeaten Ohio contender Albert Bell as Mason's replacement. Bell steps in on short notice to challenge for the WBO lightweight championship, allowing the July 4 event, venue and broadcasts on DAZN and TNT Sports to proceed as scheduled.

Bell's acceptance of the opportunity significantly alters his immediate career path. Before receiving the title shot, the undefeated Toledo native had been scheduled to face Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz in an IBF lightweight final eliminator on July 18, with the winner expected to become the mandatory challenger for newly crowned IBF lightweight champion Raymond Muratalla. By accepting the Mason fight, Bell moves directly into a WBO world title opportunity, a separate championship path from the IBF. As a result, the winner of Mason versus Bell does not automatically inherit the IBF mandatory position originally attached to the Bell-Cruz eliminator.

For Mason, the late opponent switch presents a different stylistic challenge. Instead of facing the accomplished former world champion Cordina, the unbeaten champion will now defend his title against another undefeated fighter with proven experience, superior height and reach, and one of the sport's most technically polished boxing styles.

At just 22 years old, Cleveland WBO Lightweight Champion, Abdullah Mason, 21-0, 17Ko’s has rapidly established himself as one of boxing's brightest young champions. Raised in a family of boxers, Mason enjoyed an outstanding amateur career, winning the National Junior Championships, Eastern Regional Open titles and the 2021 USA Boxing Youth National Championship while compiling a 65-15 amateur record.

Since signing with Top Rank, Mason has developed into one of the sport's premier young prospects, stopping opponents with remarkable consistency. During 2024, he knocked out all five opponents inside four rounds before making his main-event debut in June 2025 with a fifth-round stoppage of former world title challenger Jeremia Nakathila. On November 22, 2025, Mason became boxing's youngest active male world champion by defeating Britain's Sam Noakes via unanimous decision in Riyadh to capture the vacant WBO lightweight championship. The victory also made him Cleveland's first world boxing champion in more than a decade. The July 4 contest marks the first defense of his WBO title and the first professional fight of his career in his hometown.

At 33 years old, Toledo, Ohio's, Albert “Prince” Bell enters the biggest fight of his professional career as one of boxing's longest-serving unbeaten contenders. Standing 6-foot with a 73-inch reach, the orthodox boxer has quietly assembled a perfect 28-0, 9Ko’s professional record while earning a reputation for exceptional ring IQ, disciplined boxing skills and defensive ability rather than overwhelming punching power.

Bell spent approximately one year as the WBO's No. 1-ranked junior lightweight contender without receiving a world title opportunity before moving to the lightweight division. His most notable victories include a first-round knockout of former world champion Jonatan Romero in March 2024 and a second-round stoppage of veteran contender Jayson Vélez in November 2023.

Bell's most recent victory came in August 2025, when he claimed the vacant IBF International and vacant North American Boxing Association (NABA) lightweight titles with a dominant, shutout unanimous decision over Las Vegas veteran Keith "The Bounty" Hunter, winning by identical scores of 100-90 on all three judges' scorecards. Originally scheduled to face Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz in an IBF lightweight final eliminator, Bell now bypasses that route to receive the first world title opportunity of his professional career.

At 34 years old, former two-time IBF Super Featherweight World Champion, Joe Cordina remains one of Wales' most accomplished professional fighters. An elite amateur, he won bronze at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, captured gold at the 2015 European Championships and represented Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games before embarking on a successful professional career.

Cordina, 19-1, 9Ko’s captured the IBF super featherweight world championship in June 2022 with a spectacular second-round knockout of Kenichi Ogawa. After being stripped because of injury, he regained the title with a dramatic split-decision victory over Shavkat Rakhimov, becoming the first Welsh boxer to win the same recognized world title twice. He lost the championship to Anthony Cacace in May 2024 before moving to the lightweight division, where victories over Jaret Gonzalez Quiroz and Gabriel Flores Jr. elevated him to the WBO's No. 1 contender position. His scheduled challenge against Mason represented an opportunity to become a world champion in a second weight class before his visa denial forced his withdrawal from the bout.

The July 4th championship event now features an all-Ohio showdown as hometown champion Abdullah Mason makes the first defense of his WBO Lightweight World title against undefeated challenger Albert Bell. While Joe Cordina's withdrawal dramatically reshaped the event, the late replacement preserves a compelling world title matchup featuring two unbeaten American lightweights, with Mason defending his championship against the most accomplished opponent available on short notice.

In the high-stakes featherweight co-feature in Brooklyn, New York, Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington will put his WBC World Featherweight title on the line in a scheduled 12-round matchup against Chihuahua, Mexico, unbeaten challenger, René “Zurdo” Palacios.

The pairing adds another championship-level attraction to an already strong event, putting two unbeaten fighters on a major stage with real implications in the division.

The 29-year-old, Carrington, 16-0, 9Ko’s having last scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Mateus Heita to claim the WBC interim featherweight title enters the bout as one of the featherweight division’s rising names, bringing an unbeaten record and momentum from his most recent title-winning performance.

The 25-year-old, Palacios, 19-0-1, 10Ko’s entering with a reputation for staying composed in close fights comes in off a January 30th close split-decision victory over Silver Spring, Maryland’s, Sulaiman Segawa.

The matchup brings together Carrington’s pressure, athleticism, and championship ambition against Palacios’ unbeaten record and proven ability to win rounds in a competitive fight. With a world title at stake, the co-feature gives both men a chance to make a statement and leave the card with far more than just another win.

Also scheduled for ten rounds of welterweight action is Cleveland’s 2020 Olympian, Delante “Tiger” Johnson, 17-0, 8Ko’s squaring off against U.S. debuting Montreal, Quebec, Canada based Mexican, Christopher “Machine Gun” Guerrero, 16-0, 9Ko’s.

Johnson who represented the United States at the 2020 Olympic Games before signing with Top Rank in November 2021. As a professional, he compiled 14 victories at his original weight class before moving up to welterweight last year. Since the move, he has recorded wins over Kendo Castañeda and Tarik Zaina, and most recently delivered the most notable performance of his career with a fourth-round TKO of Nicklaus Flaz in November.

Undercard action will also feature two of Mason’s brothers in separate four-round bouts. 23 year old, Abdurrahman Mason, 2-0, 2Ko’s will compete in a lightweight contest against Brighton, Colorado’s, Alvaro Huizar Cabral, 1-0, while 20 year old, Ibrahim Mason, 2-0, 2Ko’s will appear in a super featherweight fight taking on Rancho Cordova, California’s, Erik Hanely, 1-2, 1Ko.