BBN find 12 things about Jarrell Miller you didn’t already know
BBN discovered 12 interesting facts about Brooklyn’s ‘Big Baby’ ahead of his mega-fight with WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on June 1:
1. Miller was born July 15, 1988 in Brooklyn, New York, of Haitian and Belizean descent. He took up Muay Thai at the age of 14 as a way to defend himself after being attacked on the street and began boxing at the age of 16, looking up to Mike Tyson and Riddick Bowe as his early boxing idols.
2. Manager Dmitriy Salita of Salita Promotions first met Jarrell Miller at a training camp in the Poconos (mountains in the US State of Pennsylvania) when he was just 16-years-old. The pair are close like brothers, always joking and laughing, and sticking together through thick and thin. Dmitriy, who was a World title contender himself, is considered as part of the family.
3. Jarrell first came to prominence in 2007 when he competed for the New Jersey Tigers in the World Combat League – a full contact, team-based kickboxing promotion, founded by movie star and martial artist Chuck Norris – and made it to the finals of the New York Golden Gloves tournament the same year, held at the Madison Square Garden, where he lost to Tor Hamer, from nearby Harlem, on points (4-1) – British fight fans will know Hamer best for winning the Prizefighter heavyweights tournament at the York Hall in 2012.
4. He had a limited amateur career – finished at a record of 10-1, with 7 wins by knockout – due to being forced to turn professional, as he was also a professional kickboxer. His amateur kickboxing career ended as 14-0 with 7 KOs and his pro kickboxing career was even better at 19-0 with 8 KOs in New York's heavyweight Muay Thai scene.
His very first professional loss came when recruited by the world’s premier kickboxing organisation at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2012 Final on March 15, 2013 in Zagreb, Croatia at the hands of Mirko Cro Cop in the quarter-finals. They rematched 15-months later in LA but the result was the same – a unanimous decision to the Croatian – resulting in an overall professional kickboxing record of 21-2, 9 KO’s.
As part of all his training camps, he incorporates kick boxing and martial arts for every one of his fights.
5. Jarrell was a sparring partner for both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko when he was still in his early twenties.
6. He is best friends with IBF #4 and WBC #5 world-ranked heavyweight contender Adam Kownacki. The 29-year-old Polishman resides in Brooklyn and trains with Miller.
7. Somewhat of a visionary, he told Dmitriy that he would knock out Joshua in a world title fight over four years ago! The loudmouth American, who is known for having the best gift of the gab in boxing today, first started calling out Anthony Joshua in January 2016 – as well as Tyson Fury and Charles Martin, too – after defeating Donovan Dennis (12-2) for the interim WBA-NABA heavyweight title.
8. Despite only ever holding the WBA-NABA and WBO-NABA heavyweight titles, Miller is highly ranked at WBA #2 and WBO #3. He will be the eighth top-ten ranked opponent AJ has faced in his five-and-a-half-year pro career.
9. In his last five fights, he has managed to defeat a two-weight World champion (Tomasz Adamek); a European heavyweight champion (Johann Duhaupus); and two World heavyweight title contenders (Mariusz Wach and Gerald Washington).
10. He named his son Achilles after the Greek hero of the Trojan War.
11. He loves Kosher food, hummus being one of his favourites.
12. In his own words, after he becomes unified, undisputed heavyweight champ, he wants to be the mayor of New York City.