Anthony Joshua vs Jarrell Miller On For June 1 At Madison Square Garden; Official Announcement Expected Monday

By James Slater - 02/09/2019 - Comments

It’s official, or it soon will be: WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight ruler Anthony Joshua will, as was widely expected, face unbeaten New Yorker Jarrell Miller on June 1st. The fight, to go out on DAZN in the UK and Sky Sports Box-Office in the UK, will take place at the legendary Madison Square Garden. AJ, unbeaten in 22 fights, all but one coming via the short route, will of course be making his long-awaited U.S debut.

Miller, 23-0-1(20) and better known as “Big Baby,” is getting what he has been calling for for some months now and fans are intrigued to see whether or not the entertaining trash-talker can live up to his big words (“I want to break Joshua’s jaw” being one of Miller’s remarks about Joshua.)

For AJ, the June 1 fight will see him enter the ring having had the longest inactive spell of his pro career. It will have been over eight months since his last fight – a KO win over Alexander Povetkin in September of 2018 – when AJ steps in with Miller. Who knows if this will have any factor at all in the fight. Still, as dedicated as he is to his gym work, Joshua has been doing a lot of other things during the past few months, sponsorship deals and the like – might AJ have taken his eye off the ball, at least a fraction? If so, Miller could find himself in the right place (his home town) at the right time.

Then again, Miller will have been out for around seven months by the time of June 1, his planned January 18th fight falling through. Who knows, we could see something special on the first day of June? Eddie Hearn says he is planning a magical night, with a solid under-card, one that he aims to “bring back the madness of the Ricky Hatton fights.”

Hearn is positive AJ can and will enjoy superstar status in America and that this fight is just the beginning. Naturally, “Big Baby” has other ideas. Someone’s “O” has got to go!