Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, who sure has been doing some talking these past few days – with the trash-talker from New York stating how he would “run over” Oleksandr Usyk should he fight him, and with Miller laying into both Deontay Wilder and Jared Anderson for not agreeing to face him in the ring – finally has himself a fight.
As reported by The Ring, Miller will face highly ranked heavyweight contender Michael Hunter in Las Vegas on September 11, this as part of the “festivities” that will take place during the week of the massive Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford showdown that will take place on September 13.
Miller, a huge man at around the 300-pound mark, will, in facing Hunter, be going in with a fighter who did his best stuff down at cruiserweight. And like Miller, Hunter has not been terribly active as of late. This is a pretty interesting matchup to be fair, but Miller has to be looked at as the favourite.
Can Hunter’s cruiserweight skills frustrate the 300-pound tank?
Hunter, who gave Usyk a good run for his money in a cruiserweight title fight that happened seemingly an age ago now, is 24-1-2(17) and the 37-year-old (same age as Miller) did pull off a good win over a massive guy when he stopped Martin Bakole back in October of 2018. Hunter went on to beat Alexander Ustinov and Sergey Kuzmin, before his heavyweight momentum was slowed after he was held to a draw by Alexander Povetkin.
Hunter also boxed a draw with Jerry Forrest, this a fight where Forrest really should have been handed the win. That was in late 2021, and Hunter has since boxed in Mexico and in the US, this against little-known opposition, with a decent points win over Cassius Chaney mixed in.
Rust vs rust – who comes out on top?
Hunter last boxed in December of last year and it will be interesting to see what kind of shape he’ll be in for the Miller fight. Miller also last saw action last year, when he held Andy Ruiz to a draw. Miller is 26-1-2(22).
So, we could see two rusty heavyweights going at it on September 11, and in all honesty the fight could prove to be something of a stinker. That said, Miller, a tank of a man with a good engine, often makes for fun fights and he is expected to try and walk right through Hunter. Hunter, if he can find his sharp boxing skills and if he still has enough ambition at this late stage in his career, might be able to frustrate Miller, make him mad, and make him fight harder. So, who knows, maybe this one will prove watchable.
Can Miller become the first man to stop Hunter, or will Hunter give his career a shot in the arm by handing “Big Baby” his second pro loss?