June 1 Garden Humdinger: Is it Joshua or Miller Time?
Editorial By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
The mainstream verbal expression “It’s Miller Time!” is most commonly associated with the act of consuming Miller Beer. However, in colloquial English, “It’s Miller Time” implies “It’s time to call it a day, lighten up and relax.”
Next to 6’6” Anthony Joshua, 6’4” underdog Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller constitutes a shorter, heavier weight heavyweight challenger. With the announcement of Miller as the next challenger for Joshua’s WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world heavyweight titles, the mega fight at Madison Square Garden winner probably gets to fight the winner of the Deontay Wilder versus Tyson Fury II rematch for the WBC title, in the subsequent heavyweight title unification bout.
All four heavyweight fighters are still unbeaten, and the high quality of these matches remains interesting in 2019.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has Miller as the next high quality fight for Joshua, enough of a challenge Joshua cannot look past Miller, when he travels from the United Kingdom to New York City to make his American debut in defense of his share of the world heavyweight title on June 1, 2019.
Miller, age 30, 23-0-1 with 20 knockouts, Brooklyn, New York, currently holds the NABA regional heavyweight title, and would love to add Joshua’s titles to his name. At 315 pounds, the humongous Miller outweighs Joshua by 70 pounds. Miller is one big guy for Joshua to mess with. Miller has brute force strength, power, punch volume and is of humongous size.
Joshua, 22-0, 21 knockouts, Watford, United Kingdom, has 82 inches of reach, four inches longer than Miller. Joshua has size, speed, reach, superior ring experience and ring generalship to his advantage. Taller and faster, Joshua has superior foot mobility and great hand speed with his jab. If Joshua can cut off the ring, and keep Miller out of range, Joshua can outwork miller and break him down, over a 12 round extended contest.
Miller’s chief advantage is his gargantuan appearance. He looks like Godzilla! If Miller can successfully use his size to bully Joshua around the ring, the bout could be over early.
Joshua needs to be the sneaky sniper, and should go back to old-fashioned boxing to win rounds, much like Sergey Kovalev did winning his 12 round WBO world light heavyweight title rematch victory over Eleider Alvarez recently.
If Joshua stops moving, and offers Miller a free target on the ropes, in the corners, or standing in front trying to trade toe-to-toe on the inside (like tall Gerald Washington did against Miller’s heavyweight friend Adam Kowacki who knocked Washington out last week), then Miller will knock Joshua the f*#k out ugly style. The monster gargantuan Miller is just too big to trade power shots with. If Miller cuts off the ring on Joshua and drops him even once, their bout will be over quickly with a violent end. Joshua is a spectacularly superb technical boxer. Miller, on the other hand, has true atom bomb punching power. One look at Miller’s second round destruction of Tomasz Adamek on YouTube is evidence Miller is for real. Joshua versus Miller is a curious humdinger matchup.
COMMENTS
English