By Keith Idec
Tomasz Adamek is 41 and hasn’t produced a noteworthy win since he edged Steve Cunningham in their rematch almost six years ago.
A much younger, fresher Jarrell Miller insists he still hasn’t overlooked the Polish veteran ahead of their 12-round fight. Miller expressed respect for Adamek during a press conference Thursday in Chicago to promote their battle Saturday night.
“I did not look past Adamek because of his age or, you know, he’s gotten his butt whupped a couple times in the ring,” Miller said. “I did not look past that. I made sure I went to the gym, trained hard and make sure I put on a good show for you guys.”
The 30-year-old Miller (21-0-1, 18 KOs) consistently is listed as at least a 30-1 favorite over Adamek (53-5, 31 KOs), a former light heavyweight and cruiserweight champion who has won three straight fights since Eric Molina knocked him out in the 10th round of their April 2016 fight in Krakow, Poland. Even though the more recent portion of Adamek’s resume isn’t overly impressive, Brooklyn’s Miller realizes he can’t afford a subpar performance in his quest for a heavyweight title shot.
“Sometimes as fighters, the wrong story comes across because we talk smack and we talk junk about a fighter,” Miller said. “I have nothing but respect for this guy. I’ve watched him multiple times in the ring. I have a big love for Polish fans – not what they’ve been through as a country, but what they’ve done for my other country of Haiti, when we beat against the Spaniards and English to give us our freedom and our independence in Haiti as well.
“So I have a lot of love for Polish fans and the Polish community. So this fight is nothing about, you know, disrespect. It’s just two fighters coming together and I wanna beat his behind. That’s all it is. It’s nothing but business.”
The Miller-Adamek match will be streamed live by DAZN from DePaul University’s Wintrust Arena. The main event of DAZN’s four-fight show will match former WBO welterweight champ Jessie Vargas (28-2-1, 10 KOs) against Thomas Dulorme (24-3, 16 KOs) in a 12-rounder (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
![Kingsley Ibeh [right] eyeballs Scott Alexander before knocking him out in January 2025](https://photo.boxingscene.com/uploads/KingsleyIbehScottAlexander.webp)
