By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Jarrell Miller messes with cheeseburgers and weights, not performance-enhancing drugs.
The same cannot confidently be said for Mariusz Wach, Miller’s opponent November 11 in Uniondale, New York. The Polish heavyweight contender was suspended for a year after testing positive for an anabolic steroid following his unanimous-decision defeat to recently retired Wladimir Klitschko in November 2012.
The 6-feet-7, 260-pound Wach’s history of PED use doesn’t concern Miller (19-0-1, 17 KOs). The loquacious contender from Brooklyn told BoxingScene.com at a press conference Tuesday that’ll he’ll knock out Wach (33-2, 17 KOs), no matter what, when they meet in the opener of HBO’s “World Championship Boxing” broadcast from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
“When the stars are all aligned for you, no matter what a person do, they can take away one foot and one hand, and I’m still gonna beat him to death,” Miller said. “It is what it is. So I’m not worried about it. I’ve been through the worst in my life already. This is nothing.”
Even in the wake of the Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz controversy, Miller doesn’t think Wach would use PEDs again before their scheduled 10-round fight.
“There’s always drug testing for the fight, from the New York State [Athletic] Commission,” Miller said. “Like I said, I leave it in the hands of the commission and just keep moving forward and keep working.”
Miller admits, however, that he can’t relate to heavyweights who’ve risked their long-term health for short-term financial gains by using PEDs.
“The whole thing is, man, you, as a human being, have got to see the longevity in your life and where you wanna be at,” Miller said. “PEDs are gonna cut your life short. I know I’m gonna live a very long time.
“I’m living healthy, so I’m not doing none of that. I’m eating cheeseburgers and hitting weights. So they can do what they want, man. Like I said, I’m a fighter. I’m a warrior. I’d rather die before I quit, so hey, he can do what he wants, and whoever’s the best wins.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
