Promoter Dmitriy Salita says he was completely taken aback by his client Jarrell Miller’s latest mistake.
Fresh off the worst beating of his career administered by Daniel Dubois last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Miller, the outspoken heavyweight contender from Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on carjacking and robbery charges in Florida a few days ago. after the start of the new year.
“I’ve spoken to his family,” Salita told Pro Boxing Fans. “I am very surprised by what happened. I have read the accusations. I do not know that Jarrell is the person described in the allegations. I don’t know Jarrell that he is so aggressive and that he does the things that he has done. I don’t know that side of him. I was surprised to have read about it. He called me yesterday and told me his side of the story. I can’t comment on that. …But what he told me adds a lot of context to what happened.”
Miller has been on a rough patch since testing positive for several banned performance-enhancing drugs ahead of a scheduled matchup against Anthony Joshua in 2019. Miller would test positive for another drug test the following year ahead of a scheduled fight with Jerry Forrest. That fight, which was to take place in Las Vegas, led to a two-year suspension by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Miller, 35, reeled off three straight wins before London’s Dubois stopped him in the 10th and final round on the Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin undercard.
Salita remains optimistic that Miller can regain his status as a legitimate contender. But he will need to get in shape, Salita warned. Miller weighs more than 330 pounds, a far cry from the days when he used to weigh more than 200 pounds.
“It was a great stage for him,” Salita said. “He weighed more than we would like him to be. But I do think he showed that he can compete at that level. And if he can recover and get back in shape, lose some weight and learn the lessons from this fight, he can still grow and get better and come back and give a lot of good fights to a lot of guys at the top.
“Certainly, his personality adds a lot of flavor, being from Brooklyn, New York, he adds a lot of personality to the division. But he has to get some wins against credible guys to put some meat on those bones. What I mean by that is to support some of that talk. It’s had some challenges recently, but it seems like the situation is resolving itself. Hopefully everything will be back up and running relatively soon.”
Salita, who has worked with Miller since 2010, said it took some maneuvering to get Miller on the Saudi Arabia card, and said few promoters were willing to work with the drug cheat.
“I was very happy that he finally got this opportunity against Daniel Dubois, something that I worked on; you know, after that failed drug test, it was very difficult for Jarrell to find another opportunity to redeem himself on the big stage,” Salita said. . “A lot of people, a lot of networks, a lot of stations and promoters who promote other legitimate heavyweights didn’t want to work with him. I mean, Eddie Hearn was one of the guys who said it publicly. There were others who did not want to work with him. Through perseverance and creativity we were able to realize this opportunity.”
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mob, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.
