Jarrell Miller is confident he’ll become the second heavyweight in less than four months and the third overall to defeat Daniel Dubois by knockout.
Brooklyn’s Miller understands Dubois is durable during the first half of fights. The undefeated contender is certain, though, that Dubois will fade later in their 10-round fight Saturday night on the Anthony Joshua-Otto Wallin undercard at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Miller also dubbed Dubois “a quitter” when he was asked about their fight during his “grand arrival” Tuesday night in Riyadh.
“I mean, he’s decent, good right hand,” Miller said. “You know, most of these fighters are very physically fit. And they’re very, you know, good jab, good right hand. Pretty basic, but he’s missing that swag. And the most important [thing] on top of the swag and the fluidity and movement is lack of heart.
“You know, that’s not something I’m just throwing out there to throw out. It’s a proven fact. He’s done it in fights, where he looks like he’s a quitter. When fights get tough, as a fighter you’ve gotta constantly keep pushing. That’s the whole point.”
London’s Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) seemingly hurt Oleksandr Usyk with a right to his body early in the fifth round of their 12-round fight for the Ukrainian southpaw’s IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO belts August 26 in Wroclaw, Poland. Referee Luis Pabon ruled Dubois hit Usyk low, however, and Usyk was given time to recover.
Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) came back, dropped Dubois late in the eighth round and again midway through the ninth round. Dubois didn’t beat Pabon’s count after that second knockdown and lost by knockout.
Miller has won three bouts since he resumed his career in June 2022 following two performance-enhancing drug ordeals. Dubois, listed by most sportsbooks as almost a 3-1 favorite, is Miller’s most imposing opponent since he began his comeback.
The 35-year-old Miller nevertheless believes he’ll break down Dubois and stop him inside the distance.
“Sometimes you gotta break a guy’s heart before you can get him outta there,” Miller said. “You know, I’m aiming for the stoppage, but we’re gonna soften him up first. We know that he’s durable for the first five rounds. We know he has a decent right hand and a good jab, so you know, we’re gonna take our time and we’re gonna break him apart. You know, we’re gonna dissect him and bully him and beat him up and send him home fried, fried shrimp.”
The besmirched Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs) hopes a victory over Dubois leads to another opportunity to face Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs), who has repeatedly stated that he won’t ever reschedule their fight. Miller was supposed to challenge a then-unbeaten Joshua in June 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, but Miller was replaced by opportunistic underdog Andy Ruiz Jr. once Miller tested positive for four banned substances.
“I think after this fight I’ll be 80, 90 percent where I wanna go,” Miller said. “I think it takes a little time, just constantly staying busy, getting the right fights, and Dubois is a great steppingstone to get there. You know, so I said after him, we right back into the gym. You know, I have no doubt I’m gonna stop him. And that’s the whole point, you know, having confidence and courage to go in there and get the job done.
“But, of course, the more that I stay busy and stay active and I show what I could do, and of course, you know, I got a mouthpiece on me. People love that, so that’s always gonna keep me in the camera’s eye. You know what I mean? But the main thing is go in there and doing my job. You know what I mean? And God blessed me with talent still to come out here and do what I gotta do and keep improving.”
Dubois-Miller will be part of an eight-fight “Day Of Reckoning” pay-per-view show scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. GMT in the United Kingdom (£19.99) and 11 a.m. ET in the United States ($39.99).
By Keith Idec