Anthony Joshua isn’t holding a grudge against Jarrell Miller.
Even though Miller’s performance-enhancing drug ordeal led Joshua into his ill-fated fight with replacement Andy Ruiz Jr., Joshua would agree to box Miller again. Joshua was asked about granting the besmirched Miller a second chance during the recent three-day, three-country press tour to promote his heavyweight championship rematch versus Ruiz.
“Yeah, I would do it,” Joshua told a group of reporters. “I would do it.”
Four months later, however, the forgiving Joshua still can’t understand why Miller knowingly jeopardized the chance of a lifetime. The undefeated contender’s total compensation package for facing Joshua on June 1 at Madison Square Garden was supposed to be $6.5 million.
“God don’t like ugly,” Joshua said. “You know, he had a great opportunity. It may have been his time. You’ve just gotta keep yourself clean, you’ve gotta do the right thing in this sport and the people who have done the right thing get the right opportunity at the right time. So, I would fight him again. But is it even worth my time? That’s the question.”
Whether it becomes worth Joshua’s time likely will be determined by how Miller comes back from testing positive for three PEDs while training for his shot at Joshua’s IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles.
The brash Brooklyn native is expected to return to the ring sometime before the end of 2019, probably in a low-profile fight. The 31-year-old Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs) has been suspended only by the WBA, which issued a six-month suspension from its rankings after Miller was removed from the Joshua fight.
Ruiz replaced Miller on five weeks’ notice once Miller tested positive for three prohibited PEDs – Endurobol, EPO and HGH.
Joshua was consistently listed as a 25-1 favorite over Ruiz when their fight first was announced. Odds on the Joshua-Miller match were much closer (6-1), but Ruiz pulled off one of the most unlikely upsets in boxing history by dropping Joshua four times and stopping him in the seventh round.
Joshua (22-1, 21 KOs), of Watford, England, has been installed as a 3-1 favorite over Ruiz (33-1, 22 KOs), of Imperial, California, three months in advance of their immediate rematch. They’ll fight again December 7 in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia (DAZN; Sky Sports Box Office).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
