Abdullah Mason was in a good mood Monday. Why wouldn’t he be, you might ask? He is young, unbeaten, the talk of the boxing world and about to get another fight in the bank. It comes this Saturday against Ronal Ron, on the Jared Anderson-Ryad Merthy card at American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, Texas. 

But the lightweight prospect is also a practicing Muslim, which makes his mood even more notable, because he’s currently still fasting for Ramadan. With a fight coming up. 

“I've been fasting since I was young, but we just adjust to it,” Mason said. “If we’re feeling any type of way while we’re training, we just adjust our bodies or schedule or anything like that.” 

During Ramadan, Muslims must fast from dawn to sunset for the entire month – and that includes drinking water. Not the ideal training situation. But the way Mason, a 20-year-old Ohio native, has been walking through opponents, you almost need to throw a handicap in the mix to make things competitive. In some bad news for Venezuela’s Ron (14-5, 11 KOs), Ramadan ends on Tuesday, which means Mason should be firing on all cylinders come fight night.

Unless, of course, it turns out that Mason on Wednesday and Thursday wants to eat like a fat kid. No chance, says the fighter.

“I still got to make weight and stay focused for the fight,” Mason said.

That’s apparently the secret to Mason’s success, as beyond talent, youth and skill, he has a focus that you don’t often see in a 20-year-old. 

“Whatever I'm in, I'm going to be serious about it and I'm going to be focused on it,” he said. “And what it is right now is boxing. So it's not too hard to be focused or making sure I'm staying straight and doing what I'm supposed to do, because that's how I was raised. That's how my father raised me and my brothers – to be focused on what we do.”