Mama fights for Naba title

FORMER world title challenger Jayson Mama returns to the US to take on unbeaten Dominique Crowder for the vacant North American Boxing Association (Naba) USA bantamweight title on Oct. 10, 2026 (US time), at the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.

The 29-year-old Mama is looking to bounce back from a loss in his latest fight. He was stopped by Angel Ayala in the fifth round of their 10-round contest last May 21 in Mexico.

Mama lost two of his last three fights over the past two years. His other defeat came via fifth-round technical knockout against Ricardo Malajika in an International Boxing Organization (IBO) super-flyweight bout in South Africa.

Mama challenged for a world title in 2021, but lost to then-International Boxing Federation (IBF) flyweight king Sunny Edwards by unanimous decision in Dubai.

Mama is in dire need of a win against Crowder if he wants to break into the world rankings.

Crowder, meanwhile, is coming off a long layoff. The unbeaten American has not fought in nearly a year, with his last fight taking place on Oct. 18, 2025, when he outclassed Fernando Diaz via unanimous decision.

Despite his lengthy inactivity, Crowder remains No. 12 in the IBF bantamweight division.

Mama has a win-loss-draw slate of 21-4-1 with 10 knockouts, while Crowder boasts a perfect record of 19-0 with 11 knockouts. / EKA