Heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller has found a way back toward the top of boxing’s most lucrative weight class.
The New Yorker collides with Lenier Pero on April 25 at the BleauLive at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas, broadcast live on DAZN. The bout has been advertised as an eliminator for the WBA world title. Murat Gassiev is the current regular champion with the WBA, while Oleksandr Usyk is the super champion.
Miller (27-1-2, 22 KOs) comes off a majority-decision victory over Kingsley Ibeh in January. In a bizarre turn of events, Miller’s wig fell off during the fight.
“The toupee thing was something that was definitely not planned but we ran with it and it worked in our favor,” Miller said in a statement sent to Boxing Social. “Kingsley was not a walkover, he gave me a run for my money, but I take an ugly win over a good loss any day. Pero called me out before which I was shocked by, but come April 25 I’ll be whooping his ass real good.”
Pero (13-0, 8 KOs), a 33 year old Cuban southpaw, signed a co-promotional deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and Boxlab Promotions last year. He defeated Jordan Thompson last November in Orlando.
“Any fighter that gets in the ring over 200 pounds has a puncher’s chance, and I’ve never slept on any of my opponents or taken anyone lightly,” Miller explained. “It was a shorter camp for the New York fight but I’ve been in the gym since that fight and I look a lot leaner now.”
Miller appears to have turned his career around since missing out on a fight with Anthony Joshua after failing a performance enhancing drug test in 2019.
“I need someone to get my juices running,” Miller added. “I’m going to beat this bitch’s ass bad on April 25, he might need to get a one-way boat back to Cuba. It’s not going to be any of that pretty moving around, I’m going back to the old school and I’m going to run him over Big Baby style. I’m throwing 70-80- punches a round, he’s going to try to move around and box, I’ve seen the stuff he does in the gym, but I’m going to beat the brakes off his ass, trust me.”
