America’s leading heavyweight contender Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller 21-0-1 (18) has called out unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 21-0 (20) of Great Britain after his workman-like win over Frenchman Johann Duhaupas 37-4 (24) at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday night.
The 29-year-old Miller, who carried a career-high 304-pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame for the fight, won the 12-round WBA heavyweight eliminator by scores of 119-109, 117-111 and 119-109.
With the win he puts himself in line to face WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Joshua. That fight could happen as soon as the northern summer.
“Anthony ‘G-String’ Joshua should come and get this work – all day. I’m ready to toast that English muffin. We cooked French fries tonight [Duhaupas] so it’s English muffins next time,” said the always-quotable Miller after the fight.
“It’s like I said before, Eddie Hearn has made promises and comments to other fights but let’s get this straight, I’m not signed with Matchroom boxing and Eddie Hearn. I am my own boss, I have Big Baby Promotions, but it was decided that it would be in my best interests to fight on an Eddie Hearn card to build my profile.
“Of course we want the AJ fight. Eddie Hearn has been talking a lot that AJ is going to come to Brooklyn, do this and do that. I’m not going to get on my knees and beg, us New Yorkers work hard to earn our shot. But if you bring him to New York I will bust his behind.”
Of course the status of a potential Joshua versus Miller bout largely depends on how the stop-start negotiations for a heavyweight unification between Joshua and WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder play out.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has indicated his interest in the Miller fight if the Wilder bout falls through.
“If we can’t get Wilder, Miller is definitely an option,” he said. “You’ve got Miller, Alexander Povetkin and Wilder there. We will have to see. But if Anthony is going to come to America [to fight] and it’s not against Wilder, we want to come to the Barclays Center and the guy to do it against is Jarrell Miller.
“We’ll see over the next few weeks. The WBA have called a mandatory but we could ask for an exception to fight Miller.”
 has called out unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 21-0 (20) of Great Britain after his workman-like win over Frenchman Johann Duhaupas 37-4 (24) at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday night.){kind=link}