Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller may have lost his hair, but he didn’t lose the fight.
The heavyweight contender Miller overcame a toupee malfunction and a spirited early performance from Kingsley Ibeh to win a split decision Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Miller, 27-1-2 (22 KOs), won the fight by scores of 97-93 on two cards while the third had it 96-94 for Ibeh, 16-3-1 (14 KOs), who saw his 11-fight win streak snapped.
Ibeh, who entered and left the fight with a bald head, started quickly, using his range and southpaw style to land counterpunches on the advancing Miller. One of the uppercuts Ibeh landed knocked Miller’s toupee loose, to the shock of those in attendance.
It was a moment that could have dislodged Miller’s confidence and focus, but instead Miller reassumed control over the situation by ripping it clean off his head and throwing it into the crowd. The toupee was caught by WBO heavyweight titleholder Fabio Wardley, who was watching the fight at ringside.
Miller’s superior experience began to pay off as he took over in the sixth round, his nonstop body attack beginning to wear down Ibeh, who had never previously fought past the sixth round.
Miller’s edge began to grow as the rounds progressed, with a left hook near the end of the ninth round rocking Ibeh.
The 36-year-old Miller, a native of Brooklyn, New York, explained his absence of hair in the post-fight interview, saying that his hair fell out two days earlier after he accidentally used ammonium bleach instead of shampoo while showering at his mother’s house.
The fight was the first for Miller since his draw against Andy Ruiz in August 2024. He says he wants to be back in the ring in about a month.
Austin Williams may not have gotten a world title opportunity but he was at least able to get a win. A 29-year-old middleweight contender, Williams was originally scheduled to face WBC middleweight titleholder Carlos Adames, but when Adames withdrew before the weigh-in due to illness, Williams was matched instead with Wendy Toussaint, who took the fight on a day’s notice.
Toussaint, of Long Island, New York, was game but couldn’t match the preparation and offensive variety of the southpaw Williams, who won the fight by scores of 99-90 on two cards and 98-91 on the third, improving to 20-1 (13 KOs). Toussaint dropped to 17-4 (7 KOs) with the loss.
There was only one knockdown in the fight, as Williams countered a Toussaint jab to land a right uppercut near the end of the fourth round.
Opening the card, Ecuadorian journeyman Kevin Castillo pulled off a minor upset, defeating previously unbeaten Saudi boxer Ziyad Almaayouf by unanimous decision over eight rounds. Castillo, now 6-2-1, was dropped in the first round but rallied to outwork the defensively porous Almaayouf, 7-1-1 (1 KO), to win by scores of 77-74 on two cards and 78-73 on the third.
Compubox stats showed both boxers landing around the same rate, but Castillo landed and threw more (201 of 555 attempts, compared to Almaayouf’s 141 of 408).
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
