By Mike Smith: Anthony Joshua and Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller’s first press conference on Tuesday was an explosive one with trash talking and a violent shove from Jarrell that led to the two fighters being separated.
Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) vowed afterwards that he was going to humble Miller by shoving jabs down his throat, and targeting his “big head” and “big body” with his fists in their fight on June 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
This is Joshua’s first fight in the United States, and it’s important that he make a good showing in defeating the undefeated American in front of his own boxing fans at MSG and on DAZN.
A lot has been made about Miller’s huge 315 pound frame. While some boxing fans believe his size will help him against Joshua, who doesn’t have a great chin or good stamina, most people believe that Big Baby will be a sitting duck when he gets inside the ring with the taller, stronger and more highly skilled AJ on June 1. Only time will tell. Miller has got to try and get to Joshua’s chin as fast as he can in this fight. If he’s unable to close the distance to land something big, Miller will likely get worn down and stopped.
“Big head, big body, easy target,” Joshua said to skysports.com about the big 315 pound Miller. “He needs humbling. Instead of cheeseburgers, I will feed him humble pie.”
If Miller is able to get in punching range to land his shots, it could be a long night for Joshua. Miller is a classic pressure fighter, who walks his opponents down, and forces them to brawl with him at close range. That might not work out well for Miller if he gets hit with Joshua’s powerful uppercuts. Joshua badly hurt Wladimir Klitschko with those shots in their fight in 2017 in scoring a knockout in the 11th round.
Joshua will try and do the same thing against Miller. This fight could come down to which of them has the best chin to take their bombs. If it’s Miller, then you’ve got to give him credit for being able to take Joshua’s best shots without dropping for the 10 count. It’s going to be a race against time for both guys. If Joshua doesn’t get Miller put of there within six rounds, he could wind up getting worn down and knocked out by him. For Miller, he’s got to try and get to Joshua as soon as he can to avoid getting hit with something big.
“You can see Dillian Whyte – they are cut from the same cloth. I don’t expect anything else from characters like those,” Joshua said about Miller in comparing him to ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte. “Fire-fests I always win, boxing matches I always with. Whatever they want.”
