The heavyset American heavyweight Jarrell Miller is eager to stay active, and after fighting and winning his last bout on January 31, he will return to the ring on April 25 to face the undefeated Cuban Lenier Pero. The two will meet in Las Vegas on a card organized by Matchroom Boxing, led by Eddie Hearn, live on DAZN.
The last time he stepped into the ring, Miller had to work hard to edge out his compatriot Kingsley Ibeh, winning by split decision after ten fairly even rounds. The fight itself was not particularly memorable; what drew the most attention was the bizarre incident involving Miller’s hairpiece, which came off during the bout.
“Big Baby” later explained that he had accidentally used a bottle of ammonia instead of shampoo, causing him to lose his hair within two days, and that he resorted to a wig as an emergency solution.
Back to boxing, Pero is certainly not an opponent to be underestimated, given his undefeated record and solid amateur background.
Italian fans will likely remember the points victory the Cuban scored over Guido Vianello in the first round of the 2016 Olympic Games boxing tournament. However, in that same tournament Pero also showed worrying signs of vulnerability: his run ended in the quarterfinals with a heavy stoppage loss to Croatian Filip Hrgovic.
That setback came after another one a few months earlier in the World Series of Boxing, where he was knocked out by Britain’s Frazer Clarke.
As a professional, however, the Cuban has been flawless so far, winning all 13 of his bouts. His most significant victory came against the Ukrainian giant Viktor Vykhryst, whom he defeated by eighth-round TKO after an entertaining battle.
The April 25 clash will therefore be a genuine crossroads: the winner will move closer to the top of the division, while the loser risks being pushed into the background. It should be noted that Lenier Pero is currently ranked No. 2 by the WBA and is therefore not far from earning a title shot.
Miller, on the other hand, is not ranked in the top 15 by any of the four major sanctioning bodies and is hoping to secure a prominent position by knocking his next opponent off his privileged spot. A major question mark heading into this fight concerns the American’s physical condition, as he has shown significant weight fluctuations. In his last bout, Miller tipped the scales at a massive 144 kilograms…