Anthony Joshua is now on the search for an August 12 opponent – but there’s one man who has been ruled out entirely.
The Olympic Gold Medalist is looking for a fight to bank some valuable rounds under new trainer, Derrick James, before moving ahead to a clash of the former-champions with Deontay Wilder.
The frontrunner for some time was Dillian Whyte, with a rematch reigniting the domestic rivalry from 2015 that ended in a Joshua KO.
Not long after Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, informed Boxing Social that the Whyte fight was on the ropes, reports emerged of Jarrell Miller being offered to Joshua.
The pair have previous. The Brooklyn native was set to be the dance partner for ‘AJ’s first fight in the States, and the build-up was as spicy as it gets. Miller squandered the opportunity by testing positive for banned performance enhancing drugs, and was replaced last-minute by Andy Ruiz Jr, who shocked the world and won.
He’s been very vocal in his dislike for Joshua since, and the stage for a fight is certainly set provided no anti-doping agency has to step in.
Hearn, though, said at the time that he would likely never work with the heavyweight again. Whilst his stance has softened slightly, he told Boxing Social that Miller was categorically not being considered for his man’s next outing.
He said Miller’s promoter, Dmitry Salita, had been in touch about another heavyweight – Otto Wallin.
“No. One, it’s not a fight that I would consider at the moment. Two, Dmitry Salita came on yesterday and offered me Otto Wallin. No one’s offered us Jarrell Miller. No. Not Jarrell Miller.”
“I understand that it could be a big fight. Do I rule it out forever? I don’t think it would be wise in this crazy boxing world to rule anything out forever. Obviously I don’t like what happened. I do understand it’s a big fight but it’s not something we’re looking at at the moment.”
Hearn is looking at top 15 names and says there are four or five fighters in the running. Should the event go ahead, it will need to be finalised and announced