Jarrell Miller needs a statement win to back up his top-level trash talk and it appears he knows it.
The heavyweight from Brooklyn, without that big name on his record, will still be best known for his drug test failures in 2019 and 2020 that saw him miss out on a lucrative fight against Anthony Joshua before being banned for two years by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
He returned in 2022 and scored wins over Ariel Bracamonte, Derek Cardenas and Lucas Browne before falling short on the big stage against a rejuvenated Daniel Dubois, who stopped the American with seconds to go in the final round.
Miller has now been welcomed back by the promotion Riyadh Season to fight on the undercard of its first US effort topped by Terence Crawford versus Israil Madrimov.
He will face Andy Ruiz Jr, the man who stepped in to face Joshua all those years ago and won the unified heavyweight titles in a monumental upset. Ruiz would lose the titles in an immediate rematch and be seriously inactive between then and now, making this fight as important to him as it is Miller.
‘Big Baby’ from Brooklyn is taking this incredibly seriously, as evidenced by his link up with in-form trainer ‘Bozy’ Ennis and a camp in which he aims to drop 50 pounds, according to Chris Mannix.
He tipped the scales at 333lbs for the Dubois fight and hasn’t weight in under 300lbs since a fight against Maurius Wach seven years ago, but he looks on track to do it this time around going by his latest pictures.
A story of four parts 😜 @EddieHearn@BIGBABYMILLER#RuizMiller#CrawfordMadrimov#RiyadhSeasonCardpic.twitter.com/9pRD5CZv86
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 29, 2024
Fans were rightly taken aback by the 36-year-old’s new physique, with one commenting ‘incredible shape’ and another saying his fitter frame spells ‘big trouble’ for Ruiz.
Interestingly, the boxing world will also be keen to see how the Mexican-American looks on the scales come Friday’s weigh-in. For the ‘AJ’ rematch he came in, as he says himself, out of shape, but a mission to lose pounds before his Arreola fight also saw him perform under-par. He has since confirmed he focuses on the game-plan during camp and not his physique.
The pair face off this Saturday in Los Angeles at the BMO Stadium, broadcast live on DAZN PPV.
