Jarrell Miller Hoping to Fill the American Heavyweight Power Vacuum With a World Title (Exclusive)

American heavyweight boxing is in what can only be referred to as a slump, with its last champion, Deontay Wilder, in the last throws of his career and no young prospects to give the fans hope of a future champion.

But one veteran, Jarrell Miller, believes he can become America's next heavyweight champion, and he might get the chance sooner than you think.

KO On SI had the opportunity to ask Miller some questions and find out more about his heavyweight ambitions, courtesy of Dojo Talent.

Miller has had a storied career, fighting some of the best heavyweights in the world, including Andy Ruiz and Daniel Dubois. The American famously almost fought Anthony Joshua in 2019 before failing a drug test and being forced to serve a ban, which helped to produce one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history when Andy Ruiz stepped in on short notice and knocked Joshua out.

Since Oleksandr Usyk vacated his belts in June, the heavyweight division has been in flux and titles are entering new hands for the first time in years. But American talent is at an all-time low, with young prospects like Jared Anderson and Richard Torrez falling to premature defeats - it doesn't seem as though anyone from US shores is in position to take the final step up.

Jarrell Miller vs Andy Ruiz | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Miller hopes to become the next American heavyweight champion

Miller believes he is the next great American hope as he sits as the number two ranked contender in the world with the WBA, behind Moses Itauma. But with Itauma now fighting for the IBF title against Filip Hgrovic, he believes he is the rightful challenger to reigning champion Murat Gassiev.

"I am the biggest American talent right now," Miller claimed. "Like I said, we need that one breakout performance, we need that belt to kind of solidify that spot. But on BoxRec, the rankings, I'm number one in the U.S. Number two in the world. I think Itauma is officially fighting for the IBF title, so that moves me to number one in the WBA."

"America hasn't had a heavyweight champion in a few years now. I'm not too sure how many years it's been since Deontay lost his title, but we're due for a heavyweight champ over here, man. Somebody like me".

Is Gassiev avoiding the Miller fight?

The man he is chasing, Gassiev, was elevated to 'Super' champion status by the WBA shortly after Usyk vacated his titles. He has since defended it against Peter Kadiru, winning via stoppage, but Miller is now already on the hunt for his shot as mandatory challenger because Kadiru was a voluntary defense. 'Big Baby', however, believes that Gassiev will price himself out of the fight because he knows a defeat is imminent.

WBA Heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev | IBA Pro / Valery Sharifulin

"He's not really the real champion, right? He is the email champion and he wants more money, right?" Miller explained. "If you're not the favorite, and you're not with a network or a top promoter, and you're not American, he knows that this might be his last ever time touching the belt. He wants to get an extreme amount of money for the opposition, which is me, and the problem is when fighters do that, they price themselves out."

While it seems as though Gassiev is in no rush to fight Miller, as is his right, having only fought last month, the challenger is singularly focused on winning that belt. Miller's last outing was against the undefeated prospect Lenier Pero, and the American put on a record-breaking performance, throwing over 1000 punches to claim a unanimous decision victory.

Miller's singular heavyweight title focus

The fight with Gassiev may not be possible until near the end of the year; therefore, a fight in the interim may be his best option. Dillian Whyte recently announced that he intends to make a return to the ring and named Miller as a potential opponent. 'Big Baby' was more than happy to oblige and also named Joshua, Tyson Fury and Wilder as a counteroffer, but remained staunch in his prioritization of getting that belt from Gassiev first.

"I would definitely look to fight Dillian. But I definitely want to fight for the title. I think me and Dillian, once I get the title belt, me and Dillian fighting for it would be phenomenal," Miller said.

"The heavyweight division is wide open." 'Big Baby' said. "There's a lot of movements right now, I would love to fight AJ still. Love to fight Dillian White. Love to fight Deontay. I’d love to fight Tyson, I know Tyson was interested fighting, too, but like I said, I'm ahead of these guys in the rankings right now. So my main thing is getting that belt, and then, you know, once you're in the position of power, then you could call some shots."

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