By Jim Dower: Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller (20-0-1, 18 KOs) wants his April 28 fight against unbeaten Trevor Bryan (19-0, 13 KOs) to be an IBF and/or WBA heavyweight title eliminator. Miller hopes that a victory over Bryan will earn him a mandatory title shot against IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua or Joseph Parker if he wins their unification fight on March 31.
Unfortunately for Miller, Alexander Povetkin is already the World Boxing Association mandatory challenger following his 12 round unanimous decision win over Christian Hammer on December 15 in Russia. Miller would have to be the WBA’s second mandatory, which means he probably won’t get a title shot anytime soon.
If Joshua faces Povetkin in 2019, then Miller would be waiting until at least 2020 for his title shot against the AJ.
“It’s looking like the end of April. I’m going to knock his block off,” Miller said to skysports.com. I feel like I deserve it after this fight, after I put Trevor Bryan to sleep, so that’s how it is.”
Miller, 29, is now working with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, which means he probably won’t have to become the IBF or WBA mandatory for him to get a title shot against Joshua. Miller is ranked #3 IBF, #3 WBA and #3 WBO. He’s going to get a title shot anyway sooner or later. Miller likely wants to become the mandatory challenger because that will give him a little bit better purse split than if Joshua faces him in a voluntary defense.
Miller feels he should be given the title shot with Joshua instead of Povetkin because he’s been more active than him. That’s not how it works though. Once a heavyweight becomes a mandatory challenger, it’s up to the sanctioning body to decide when they’ll order the fight. Povetkin is the WBA mandatory, so he’s next in line for Joshua.
Miller’s best shot at getting a mandatory title shot is if the International Boxing Federation makes his fight against the 28-year-old Bryan a title eliminator with their organization. There’s no word whether they’ll do that. Bryan isn’t ranked in the IBF’s top 15, which could make it unlikely they’ll agree to the Miller-Bryan fight being a title eliminator.
“It’s my turn now,” Miller said in talking about him deserving a mandatory title shot against the Joshua vs. Parker winner. “I’ve been more active than he [Povetkin] has, fighting more top contenders than he has, so I don’t see why he should skip me.”
Bryan hasn’t gotten a lot of attention since turning pro in 2011. He’s mostly fought journeyman level opposition. That might explain why he’s not been talked about a lot. Bryan’s best win of his career was a one-sided 10 round unanimous decision win over journeyman Derric Rossy in August 2015. Bryan’s last 2 wins since then have come against Sandy Soto (2-20) and Francois Russell (2-24). Bryan’s management hasn’t taken any risks in putting him in against quality opposition.
Miller has recent wins over Mariusz Wach, Gerald Washington, Fred Kassi and Nick Guivas. Miller looked good in those fights. Miller has gotten more attention than most heavyweights due to his constant trash talking.