By Keith Idec
Jarrell Miller wants to fight Luis Ortiz.
The undefeated heavyweight contender also wants some sort of assurance that if he agrees to face Ortiz that a win would guarantee him a title shot in his next fight. Eddie Hearn, Ortiz’s promoter, pitched an Ortiz-Miller matchup to Showtime Sports’ Stephen Espinoza last week and preliminary discussions between Hearn and Miller’s manager, Steve Nelson, began shortly thereafter.
Nelson informed BoxingScene.com that Espinoza has expressed interested in Showtime televising a battle between the Cuban-born Ortiz (27-0, 23 KOs, 1 NC) and Brooklyn’s Miller (18-0-1, 16 KOs) either late in April or in May, perhaps from Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. According to the New York State Athletic Commission, April 22 and May 20 have been placed on hold for boxing cards at Barclays Center.
“We’ve heard about it,” Miller told BoxingScene.com about a fight against Ortiz. “I don’t really think too much of Ortiz. Everybody thinks he’s the most scary guy in the division. I’m another scary guy in the division. No one wants to fight him and no one wants to fight me. I guess they’re giving me the task to go beat his old ass.
“But if I go beat up the No. 1, hardest guy in the division, after I beat him up, where does that leave me? Then nobody’s gonna wanna fight me. The only way I’ll take that fight is if I get a mandatory title shot directly after that. After I whip his old ass, I want a mandatory title shot. I’ll go at [IBF champion] Anthony Joshua, or have the WBO give me the winner of Joseph Parker and Hughie Fury. There’s a reason why they’re staying away from me. If I take that Ortiz fight, they’ve gotta give me some kind of guarantee because I’m gonna beat the brakes off that old motherf***er. That’s how I see it.”
The 37-year-old Ortiz, a former interim WBA champion, is ranked No. 1 by the WBA. The 28-year-old Miller is rated No. 8 by the WBA.
Miller is convinced that Hearn’s real motivation for offering him a fight against Ortiz is to keep Miller from fighting Joshua at some point. Matchroom Sport, the British promotional company for which Hearn serves as group managing director, also promotes Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs), who’ll face former champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs) on April 29 at Wembley Stadium in London.
“I never ran, never will,” Miller said. “None of the top fighters are calling my name out. But Eddie Hearn, he thinks he’s smart, but he’s really a jackass. He’s trying to put the biggest threat to Anthony Joshua off with his little sidework, which is Luis Ortiz. He’s trying to keep all the big threats away from [Joshua]. And I get it.
“But at the same time, after I whip his old ass, you’re gonna give me AJ’s head on a platter. That’s how I see it. So unless he wants to do that, then I don’t see no reason to take the Ortiz fight. Because I beat him, no one’s gonna wanna fight me. Everyone’s gonna bypass me. So give me a mandatory title shot, the WBO or the IBF. Let’s see him put his money where his mouth is. Simple as that.”
The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Miller, a former kickboxer who’s ranked No. 4 by the WBO, thought until recently that he had a chance to land a title shot against newly crowned WBO champion Joseph Parker (22-0, 18 KOs) in his next fight. England’s Hughie Fury (20-0, 10 KOs), the WBO’s No. 2-ranked contender, is likely to secure that fight against Parker, though.
“From what I heard, the money sounds decent [for the Ortiz fight],” Miller said. “But like I said, I’m fighting for a legacy. My thing is, what happens after the Ortiz fight? Where do I stand after the Ortiz fight? I’m not a normal fighter. I think about these things.
“That's why you hear about things about me dealing with different promoters, because you’re not gonna sh*t on me. I’d prefer to go back and cut grass with my cousin, Julio, than to jump in the ring for a couple grand and let these motherf***ers take advantage of me. Like I said, it’s not just about taking the Ortiz fight. It’s about everything after the Ortiz fight.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
