Tyson Fury fight: Jarrell Miller considered as next opponent for Brit after stunning Las Vegas win over Tom Schwarz
Attention now turns to Fury’s next outing, which will most likely take place on 5 October in New York
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Your support makes all the difference.Jarrell Miller, the performance-enhancing drug abuser, has emerged as a potential opponent for the second stop on Tyson Fury’s new ESPN road show.
Fury enjoyed a nigh-on perfect Las Vegas debut on Saturday night as he kicked off the new £80m, 30-month broadcasting deal in style, stopping Tom Schwarz inside two rounds and captivating the American public in the process.
They were already well aware of his credentials after he twice climbed off the canvas against Deontay Wilder to claim a draw from a fight many neutral observers thought he had won back on 1 December in Los Angeles.
But, despite only facing a badly-overmatched opponent in Schwarz, Fury’s first night in Vegas really could not have gone any better from the Apollo Creed-inspired ring walk to the post-fight sing-song which sandwiched five minutes and 56 seconds of switch-hitting class.
Now attention turn to his next outing, which will most likely take place on 5 October on the other side of America, with New York’s Madison Square Garden seemingly frontrunner to play host.
With a rematch against Wilder, should he beat Luis Ortiz in their September rematch, already pencilled in for early next year, Fury’s promoters on either side of the pond – Bob Arum and Frank Warren – must now identify an appropriate opponent.
And now ‘Big Baby’ Miller is considered as a contender for the gig in four months’ time. By that point, his pathetic six-month WBA ‘suspension’ will be over and the man who tested positive for HGH, EPO and GW-1516 will be free to box again without any hint of legal red tape.
Of course the Brooklyn native was supposed to provide the perfect heel for Anthony Joshua in his ill-fated American debut, when late stand-in Andy Ruiz dropped him four times before the Londoner was eventually stopped in seven rounds on a night which looks to have changed the course of heavyweight history.
But it will not be too long before Miller, who insists the substances were only ingested via an injection on an injured elbow, is back in business, although the label of drug cheat label will be hard to shake off.
It may not, however, prevent him from landing what would be a high-profile showdown with 'Gypsy King' Fury, who will now head east after doing a number on his Las Vegas bow.
Promoter Warren said: “I don’t know exactly what Miller’s position is at the moment but it’s something we will look at.
“We will look at all options. The whole team will sit down and we will make a decision.
“I’m sure an American opponent would be the best option but let’s wait and see. We will look at the rankings and it’s something we’ll work out this week.
“I think we will have something in place within the next 14 days.”
The nature of Miller’s three failed VADA tests, for substances seen as heavy duty PEDs, looked like it could end the 30-year-old’s 23-0-1 career already.
But, given the circumstances, a fight with Fury would do big business particularly after a build-up which would crank up the general public’s interest in the Englishman even more.
Fury himself has a history of failed drugs tests after accepting a backdated two-year ban from UKAD after elevated levels of the anabolic steroid Nandralone were found in his system during a routine test in February 2015.
But he is now back on the horse and arguably the planet’s No 1 heavyweight given his performance against Wilder and then Joshua’s disastrous defeat to Ruiz, who claimed the WBA, WBO and IBF titles on 1 June.
Miller was in the crowd at the MGM Grand on Saturday to watch Fury from close quarters as the lineal heavyweight champion dispatched Schwarz in style before serenading his wife Paris with Aerosmith’s I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing, much like he had in the immediate aftermath of his November 2015 victory over Wladimir Klitschko.
Miller said: “Tyson looked like Tyson – he did his thing. It was the right opponent for the right occasion.
“My suspension is up in September and I think October would be more of a great date and I wouldn’t mind October. I’d be ready for it if I got the shout from Top Rank, I’d take it straight away.
“I’ve had conversations with Bob Arum already so we will see – you never know. I’m going back to the drawing board, I won’t be the first and I won’t be the last, believe that.
“Hell yeah I can repair my reputation – I’m Big Baby Miller and I kick ass.”
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