Eddie Hearn has revealed the disappointment of Jarrell Miller’s failed drug tests.
The New York fighter was set to face Anthony Joshua in 2019.
Joshua was meant to defend his WBA Super, IBF, IBO and WBO world heavyweight titles against ‘Big Baby’ at Madison Square Garden three years ago before the Manhattan man tested positive for numerous banned substances in the build-up to proceedings.
California-based Mexican Andy Ruiz Jr. was drafted in to face Joshua and produced a seismic shock, dropping him four times en route to stopping him inside seven rounds to become the unified heavyweight champion.
Hearn reflected on the postponed event and insists that there will be no second chances for the man who recently secured his second comeback win.
When speaking to Ak and Barak on the DAZN Boxing Show, Hearn said:
“Number one, he owes me money.
“I actually like Jarrell Miller and spent a lot of time with him, but I feel cheated.
“There were clouds over Jarrell Miller, but I always want to judge an individual on how I find them.
“Sometimes you want to give a fighter a benefit of the doubt, but this was stone-cold cheating to beat another man.”
Joshua regained the titles he lost to Ruiz in a rematch six months later, in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, at a purpose-built stadium.
Oleksandr Usyk, the Ukrainian who cleaned up and became the undisputed champion at cruiserweight before stepping up to heavyweight, was next in line and he outpointed ‘AJ’ – who now has Robert Garcia in his corner having split from long-time mentor Robert McCracken – at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last September.
Their rematch takes place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on August 20, with Joshua planning to become a three-time king of the sport’s premier division.
But Hearn still has a bitter taste in his mouth over the incident that happened in the build-up to his star Joshua’s American debut which ultimately ended in disaster.
“When you talk about winning, why would you want to take these substances?
“It wasn’t one drug test, it was multiple. And it was injections. I feel Jarrell Miller could not fight without using performance-enhancing drugs.”