AJ vs. Big Baby Confirmed for June 1: Will Wilder-Fury Steal the Thunder?

Today Eddie Hearn, the head of the boxing division of Matchroom Sport, the firm founded by his father, and the promoter of WBA/WBO/IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, confirmed what had been widely speculated: Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) will defend his belts against Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs) at New York’s iconic Madison Square Garden on Saturday, June 1. The good news for U.S. fight fans is that the bout will stream on DAZN. It won’t be pay-per-view.

AJ last fought on Sept. 22, 2018. He stopped Alexander Povetkin in the seventh round at Wembley Stadium. Big Baby was in action more recently. On Nov. 17, he stopped undefeated but inadequate Bogdan Dinu in the fourth round at the Kansas Star Arena on the outskirts of Wichita. Miller’s last four fights (against Mariusz Wach, Johann Duhaupas, Tomasz Adamek and Dinu) were co-promoted by Hearn.

Big Baby has lived most of his life in Brooklyn, but one can’t say he will have a home field advantage as the event will inevitably attract many Brits who are louder and more demonstrative than their American counterparts. As an amateur he reached the finals of the New York Golden Gloves tournament (losing to Tor Hamer) but he began his career in combat sports as a kickboxer where he reportedly had a record of 23-2.

Joshua, 15 months younger than Miller at age 29, stands two inches taller at six-foot-six and will have a 4-inch reach advantage. However, he figures to be outweighed by more than 50 pounds. Miller weighed in at 315 ¼  for his stay-busy fight with Dinu, 60 pounds more than he carried in his pro boxing debut in 2009.

He carries the weight well. One wouldn’t describe Big Baby as lumbering. However, as Thomas Hauser noted, “fast twitch muscle fiber isn’t his thing.” He’s heavy handed and tends to club his opponents into submission after wearing them down.

One thing Miller doesn’t lack is confidence. “I’m the best out there; it’s just a matter of time for the whole world to see it,” he told Hauser in a 2016 interview. More recently, while attending the Whyte-Chisora fight in London, he said, “I’m a monster man. I heard Joshua was a little nerd in school…Of course I rate him highly, but I wear the pants in this game.” He met up with Joshua there and they met up again at the Canelo-Fielding fight at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 15.

 For a time it appeared that as official announcements go, the rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury would get there first. The WBC mandated that the two camps come to terms by Feb. 6 or the fight would go to a purse bid. They later granted a one-week extension and just today, Feb. 13, extended it again because the two sides were said to be ever-so-close to finalizing the deal.

Wilder-Fury II will reportedly take place in New York or Las Vegas. The best guess, according to various reports, is that the fight will come to fruition at Madison Square Garden on May 18. And wouldn’t that be a bonanza for the Big Apple!

With two world heavyweight title megafights spaced only two weeks apart, New Yorkers could boast once again that their city was the Mecca of prizefighting.

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