By Keith Idec

The hard part, to hear Jarrell Miller tell it, is over.

Now that the braggadocios Brooklyn heavyweight has lured Anthony Joshua across the pond, Miller has promised to make the unbeaten British superstar pay for this transatlantic trip. The undefeated Miller promised Wednesday to upset Joshua in their 12-round title fight June 1 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Their showdown was officially announced Wednesday morning. Joshua, 29, will make his debut on United States soil versus a huge, trash-talking contender with whom he got into a skirmish last summer in New York at the press conference to announce DAZN’s launch in America.

“AJ is making a huge mistake coming over to fight me in my own backyard,” Miller said. “He wants to announce himself on the American stage, but all he’s doing is delivering me those belts by hand. It’s dog eat dog in the ring, and this dog has got a bigger bite. He’ll be leaving New York empty-handed."

Miller, 30, has established himself as a legitimate heavyweight contender since ending an 11-month layoff in July 2017. Since then, Miller (23-0-1, 21 KOs) has beaten veterans Gerald Washington, Mariusz Wach, Johann Duhaupas, Tomasz Adamek and Bogdan Dinu.

He beat four of those heavyweights within the distance. Only Duhaupas lasted all 12 rounds with the 6-feet-4, 315-pound former MMA fighter.

“This is the fight that I’ve been chasing all my life,” Miller said, “and on June 1, I’m going to achieve the thing I was born to do and win the heavyweight championship of the world. That punk AJ is standing in the way of my dreams, and on June 1 he’s getting run the hell over.”

In Joshua, the extremely confident Miller will encounter arguably boxing’s best heavyweight.

The 6-feet-6, 245-pound Joshua (22-0, 21 KOs) will make the seventh defense of the IBF title he won by knocking out American Charles Martin in the second round of their April 2017 bout at O2 Arena in London. The 2012 Olympic gold medalist also will defend his IBO, WBA and WBO championships against Miller.

DAZN will stream Joshua-Miller live in the United States. Their main event also will be offered via pay-per-view in the United Kingdom by Sky Sports Box Office. 

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