He had to pull it out of the fire on Saturday, staging a second-half surge to stop Albert Bell in the 12th round and retain his WBO lightweight title at Wolstein Center in his hometown of Cleveland. Mason’s stoppage victory came in the first main event of “The Fight” series on DAZN and TNT.

Mason (21-0, 18 KOs) dropped Bell (28-1, 9 KOs) twice in the final round. Referee Mark Nelson stopped the fight after the second knockdown without a count. Bell immediately protested the stoppage, though, the result felt like a formality.

Somewhat surprisingly entering the final round, Mason led on all three judges' scorecards — two by comfortable margins: 106-105 and 107-102 (twice).

Mason was originally scheduled to face Joe Cordina, but an assault charge led to the Welshman not being able to get his visa to travel to the U.S. Bell, 33, who was scheduled to fight Andy Cruz in an IBF lightweight title eliminator on July 18, stepped in on 10 days' notice. Mason and Bell, both Ohio natives, had sparred with one another multiple times.

Mason, The Ring’s No. 5 lightweight, wasn’t without his moments in the first six rounds, but Bell’s counter straight right hands allowed him to control. The 22-year-old southpaw was caught between trying to box pressure Bell, and the 6-foot-tall crafty veteran was able to pick off Mason from range, making him miss and pay.

Through six rounds, Bell outlanded Mason 56-38 in total punches and 53-21 in power shots, according to CompuBox.

The tide turned in the seventh round when Mason landed a pair of straight left hands. Bell’s demeanor changed as he went from looking to counter to holding on and trying to stymie Mason’s attack. After the fight, Bell said he had trouble breathing through his nose.

Mason continued the momentum into the eighth and ninth rounds, and he peppered Bell with straight left hands. He also unloaded shots to the body as Bell showed signs of fatigue by breathing through his mouth.

Mason outlanded him 16-3 in the eighth, and in the ninth he scored 18 body shots. Bell landed eight punches total across the two rounds.

The pace slowed in the 10th, but Mason remained the aggressor while Bell didn’t land anything of consequence. The 11th was more of the same, but the best work was Mason’s body shots as Bell stayed on the move.

Sensing the fight was still up for grabs, Mason dropped Bell with a pair of left hands in the opening seconds of the 12th. Mason sent Bell to the canvas again with a left hand to the temple, capping the comeback in his first title defense.