CONTROVERSIAL American heavyweight Jarrell Miller still hopes to face Anthony Joshua one day.
The two were due to meet at Madison Square Garden in 2019 but a fiery build-up which involved a physical altercation during one face-off proved all for nothing when Miller tested positive for a banned substance. Andy Ruiz Jr got the call to replace Miller and the rest is history.
Joshua has returned to some semblance of form recently and could be in line for a shot at the IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium in September. His chance to own the belt which he won back in 2016 can only happen if it becomes vacant after Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury meet to determine who becomes undisputed champion on May 18.
Miller, 26-1-1 (22), crossed paths with Joshua in December during fight week in Riyadh when both had very different assignments on the same card. Five years on from when they should have fought the New Yorker uses hope of landing a Joshua fight as daily fuel for his own career.
“It’s definitely something that’s motivating me every day,” he told Boxing News today (April 24).
“He looked good against Francis Ngannou but he don’t look good against too many boxers lately. When you’ve got a motherfucker that’s mean and hungry and wants to come forward it’s a different story.”
Miller will have to defeat Andy Ruiz on August 3 at the very least to be considered as a possible opponent for Joshua or another top contender in the future.
Their heavyweight contest is part of the first Riyadh Season event in the US, featuring a host of major promoters working together, headlined by Terence Crawford’s move to super-welterweight to take on WBA title holder Israil Madrimov at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Miller attended today’s launch press conference in New York and spoke to BN afterwards about facing his friend Ruiz.
“It’s going to be fun until we start training camp and then things get a little bit more intense but right now, we’re both happy to be here.”
BN then asked Miller how key he thought the inactivity of Ruiz could play in their fight but instead the 35-year-old used that moment to offer reasons why he lost last time out against Daniel Dubois.
“Not only did I have only three and a half to four weeks of training for that fight I didn’t sign the contract till about two weeks before the fight.
“There was so much last-minute stuff done around that fight. There was so much fuckery behind the scenes I mentally clocked out a couple times and I tried my best to just stay locked in.”
“I want the rematch,” he added.