Early-Bird Bettors Rate ‘Big Baby’ a Live Dog on the ‘Day of Reckoning’

Early-Bird Bettors Rate ‘Big Baby’ a Live Dog on the ‘Day of Reckoning’

This Saturday there is a massive boxing show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – eight fights in all, six in the heavyweight class plus appearances by cruiserweight Jai Opetaia and light heavyweight Dmitry Bivol, both considered the top fighter in their weight division. The promoters have dressed this show with the tagline “Day of Reckoning.”

The press conference to formally announce this event was held on the afternoon of Nov. 15 at Wembley Arena in London. Within 24 hours, many of the larger betting chains had put up odds.

The consensus opening lines on the favorites, as noted in a story that ran on these pages, ranged from minus-425 (Anthony Joshua over Otto Wallin) to minus-5000 (Filip Hrgovic over Mark De Mori). The bet shops, in the main, listed Daniel Dubois a 20/1 favorite over Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller.

That price was knocked down quickly and the action in the last few days has been all on the underdog. The shift in the odds has been dramatic. At last glance, Dubois was favored in the 3/1 range with the take-back on Miller nesting around 5/12 (+240).

Dubois

Daniel Dubois, who comfortably carries 240 pounds on his six-foot-five frame, was considered the next big heavyweight star in Great Britain even before he demolished his former amateur teammate Nathan Gorman on July 13, 2019. But the bloom came off the rose 16 months later when he was stopped in 10 frames by his fellow Londoner, Joe Joyce. Dubois stopped this contest by himself, taking a knee after receiving yet another stiff jab on his left eye which was swollen shut. His effort exposed his shortcomings. He had no antidote for Joyce’s signature punch and had no Plan B.

Dubois rebounded with four straight wins inside the distance while answering the bell for only 20 rounds. The third of these four triumphs, a fourth-round KO of unbeaten but overmatched Trevor Bryan in Miami, earned Dubois a secondary WBA heavyweight title which he successfully defended with a third-round stoppage over South African southpaw Kevin Lerena in a three-round barnburner in London. Dubois rallied from the brink of defeat (pardon the cliché). Lerena had him on the canvas three times in the opening round.

Dubois last fought four months ago when he challenged WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on a rainy night at an outdoor arena in Wroclaw, Poland. Knocked down late in the eighth, Dubois was behind by seven, five, and five points through the completed rounds when Oleksandr Usyk brought the match to a halt early in the ninth frame with a series of punches that didn’t look especially harsh. Dubois was up in a jiff when referee Luis Pabon reached the count of “10.”

Dubois was branded a quitter after his setback to Joe Joyce and the chorus became louder after this second incident. Moreover, it wasn’t just the usual suspects – internet trolls who have never taken a punch inside a boxing ring – who questioned his courage. “There was no really big shot that would take him out of the [Usyk] fight…he just looked for a way out and he found it,” said Paulie Malignaggi to iFL TV reporter Andrew Mccart.

Dubois, 26, brings a 19-2 record with 18 knockouts into Saturday’s tiff.

“Big Baby” Miller

Years from now, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller will likely be remembered more as a serial PED abuser that for anything he accomplishes in the ring. The list of his infractions is long and dates all the way back to his kickboxing days.

Miller most famously blew an opportunity to challenge world heavyweight title-holder Anthony Joshua (and a purported $4.5 million purse) when he tested positive for a banned muscle-building steroid. Informed of this finding, the New York State Athletic Commission refused to license him and he was replaced by Andy Ruiz.

Big Baby wailed that the test was defective but acknowledged his guilt when his B sample revealed two other banned substances. (“He hit the trifecta,” wrote Thomas Hauser.)

The adverse finding ultimately shelved Miller for more than three full years. He missed all of 2019, 2020, and 2021. During this span, he failed yet another drug test, shipwrecking a bout with Jerry Forrest at the MGM Bubble.

The recidivist surfaced in June of last year in Buenos Aires where he scored a 10-round decision over a local man of no repute. A month later, he stopped a fighter with a losing record on a low-budget card in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and, most recently, stopped Lucas Browne in six frames in Dubai. Browne was a name fighter with a big punch, but he was 43 years old and had been stopped by the likes of David Allen and Paul Gallen. For the fight with Browne, the six-foot-five Miller tipped the scale at 333 pounds.

Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller isn’t getting any younger. He turned 35 in July. By contrast, Daniel Dubois is 26. But Miller, who carries his weight well, will presumably enter the ring in decent shape as he has been living in Morecambe, England, where he trains with Tyson Fury. And whatever his personal shortcomings, the fact remains that he knows how to win. The Brooklyn native has won 22 straight, advancing his record to 26-0-1 (22 KOs) and was 22-2 in documented fights in his kickboxing days with both losses coming at the hands of Mirko Filipovic, aka Mirko Cro Cop, who would become a major star in the world of Mixed Martial Arts.

The main event on the “Day of Reckoning” pits Anthony Joshua against Otto Wallin. In the semi-windup, Deontay Wilder will touch gloves with Joseph Parker. Joshua and Wilder purportedly have a deal in place to meet on March 9 in Riyadh if both are victorious on Saturday and emerge from their matches unscathed.

The Dubois-Miller affair will likely be the fifth bout on the card.

The action gets under way early on Saturday with the first bout scheduled for 11 am ET / 8 am PT. The fights will be live-streamed on both DAZN and ESPN+PPV at a cost of $39.99 to ESPN+ subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.

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