Jarrell Miller: Deontay Wilder is a Fraud; Highly Doubt He Fights Me

By Keith Idec

If Jarrell Miller lands a title shot later this year, the unbeaten Brooklyn native doesn’t expect it to come against Deontay Wilder.

Miller, who might fight Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz in April or May, is the No. 13 contender for Wilder’s WBC heavyweight championship. He figures, though, that he is much more likely to secure his championship chance against WBO champ Joseph Parker (22-0, 18 KOs) or IBF champ Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs).

The 28-year-old Miller believes he would have to beat one of those title-holders before Wilder would face him.

“I highly doubt it,” Miller told BoxingScene.com regarding Wilder’s willingness to fight him. “Not until I get a belt. Al Haymon took an interest in me, from what I’ve heard. And I’m definitely gonna knock out Deontay. He knows that.”

Though Miller (18-0-1, 16 KOs) hasn’t beaten a ranked heavyweight yet, the outspoken contender cannot believe the low level of competition Wilder has faced since he out-pointed Canada’s Bermane Stiverne to win the then-vacant WBC championship two years ago in Las Vegas.

Wilder, 31, has knocked out Eric Molina (25-4, 19 KOs), Johann Duhaupas (34-4, 21 KOs), Artur Szpilka (20-2, 15 KOs) and Chris Arreola (36-5-1, 31 KOs, 2 NC) in four optional title defenses since he beat Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs). The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Wilder was supposed to make a mandatory defense against former WBA title-holder Alexander Povetkin (31-1, 23 KOs) on May 21 in Moscow, but Russia’s Povetin tested positive for meldonium in a pre-fight test for performance-enhancing drugs and the fight was canceled.

After having surgery five months ago to repair hand and biceps injuries suffered during his victory over Arreola, Wilder is scheduled to make his fifth title defense against Poland’s Andrzej Wawrzyk (33-1, 19 KOs) on February 25 in Birmingham, Alabama (FOX).

“I’m going like a year or so back when Deontay won the belt,” Miller said, “and they were producing all these press releases that said, ‘Oh, he’s so marketable. He’s the champ and blah, blah, blah.’ I’m was like, ‘Who in the hell put this press kit together? Because no way in hell is Deontay marketable. He was lucky to keep the belt for the whole, entire year.’ Americans don’t even know who he is. Alabama barely know who he is. And you can see that right now.

“The guy’s following is still limited for a guy who’s been champion for over a year. Even his own fans are tired of him fighting these bums you never even heard of, constantly getting injured. I mean, that’s a part of the sport. But all around, Deontay Wilder, to me, is a fraud at this point. The fans and the media are starting to pick up on it. But this is what a lot of boxing experts have been saying from the beginning. ‘We’re gonna see how real he is?’ … The only top guy he fought is Bermane Stiverne, and Stiverne didn’t even show up that night. I mean, he capitalized off that. I get it, but like, damn, been champion [a whole year], four title defenses, and he didn’t fight no tough guys.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.