Jarrell Miller/Photo courtesy of Salita Promotions
They say confidence breeds success. From the tone of his comments during a workout Tuesday from New York City, heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller is very confident. Whether that turns into success at the highest level remains to be seen.
Miller (17-0-1, 15 KOs) – ranked as high as No. 8 by one organization – on Aug. 19 will take on journeyman Fred Kassi (18-5-1, 10 KOs) of New Orleans in the 10-round main event from Rhinos Stadium in Rochester, N.Y. (on Showtime). But Miller has bigger fish to fry, and he’s hopeful Deontay Wilder is in that mix down the road.
Wilder holds one of the championship belts, and he’s coming off a thorough thrashing of Chris Arreola, who did not answer the bell for the ninth round of their fight this past Saturday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala.
Miller used Tuesday’s workout to call out Wilder, who is now 37-0 with 36 knockouts.
“Wilder is a wild man when he gets in that ring, but at the same time if you watch how he performs, he performs at a mediocre level against mediocre fighters,” MIller said. “If you stick him to a world professional athlete, like myself or top guys, you’ll see him bring even more. Not saying he hasn’t been in the ring with A-plus fighters yet, but you can see all his loopholes in his fighting style. It’s just a matter of time before he gets really exposed and I hope it is with me because I want that behind.”
MIller, who is 6-foot-4, suggested the 6-7 Wilder does not use his height to his advantage.
“Shorter fighters do what they do, taller fighters do what they do,” Miller said. “Deontay is tall, but he doesn’t do what his body is designed to do; he’s trying to do something that smaller guys do, so that is going to be his downfall. Like I said, it is just a matter of time and I am going to break him in half, him and his toothpick legs.”
Miller, 28, is from Brooklyn.