Jarrell Miller calls Murat Gassiev an “email champion” while pursuing his WBA heavyweight title. The insult may help sell their fight, but it also cheapens Miller’s own prize. With Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua set to fight for the WBA’s higher “super” title, beating Gassiev would leave Miller holding the organization’s secondary belt.
“He’s an email champion,” Miller told The Ring. “I’m a take that title off his hands real soon.”
Miller is attacking two weaknesses at once. Gassiev was elevated after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the WBA super title, and his heavyweight wins have yet to settle questions about how he would fare against a leading contender. Still, “email champion” leaves out Gassiev’s win over Kubrat Pulev for the WBA’s secondary title and his subsequent defense against Peter Kadiru.
The WBA has created the bigger credibility problem. It briefly had one active heavyweight champion in Gassiev. Its decision to put a super title above him for Fury–Joshua restores the two-champion structure. Miller could beat the man holding the WBA title, call himself a world champion, and still watch the Fury–Joshua winner presented as the organization’s top heavyweight.
That does not make Gassiev an easy opponent. Miller says Gassiev is still a cruiserweight and believes his size and stamina will overwhelm him. But coming forward behind a loose defense would also put Miller within range of Gassiev’s hooks. Miller must prove his physical advantages matter more than the punches he takes getting close.
A belt could give Miller bargaining power and a route to a larger fight. That may be reason enough to chase it, regardless of its standing. But if he wins, he inherits the argument he is making now: beating Gassiev earns a title, while the WBA’s own hierarchy invites everyone to ask what kind of champion holds it.