Controversial heavyweight Jarrell Miller and Cuban contender Lenier Pero clash this weekend at the Fontainebleau, Las Vegas. Running with the tagline ‘Hair Raiser’, Matchroom are playing on the semi-amusing incident that occurred last time Miller graced the ring.
In case you forgot, boxing on the undercard of Shakur Stevenson’s dismantling of Teofimo Lopez, ‘Big Baby’s’ badly stuck on wig was physically punched into the air by Kingsley Ibeh, before Miller made a spectacle of ripping it off completely between rounds.
The 37-year-old Brooklyn native won that 10-round contest by split decision. Now, despite gross inactivity and ongoing issues with Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs), he is not only back in the good graces of Eddie Hearn (a promoter who said he would never employ him again) but also in a high-profile DAZN main event that serves as a world championship eliminator.
Lenier Pero, meanwhile, is unbeaten yet largely untested. The latter point hasn’t dissuaded the WBA from ranking him at number two. Boasting a stellar amateur record, like so many of his Cuban contemporaries, including fellow heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez, the 33-year-old was underwhelming in his last outing, a points win over Jordan Thompson.
It all seems a far cry from when the southpaw impressively stopped Viktor Vykhryst in eight rounds during their 2023 battle of unbeatens. Pero needs a rocket up the backside sometimes to raise his game. That will be required to topple the 300-pound behemoth in front of him.
Miller has hooked up with respected Philadelphia trainer Derrick ‘Bozy’ Ennis, the father of Jaron aka ‘Boots’ Ennis, for this April 25 clash. Whether that move inspires him to greater success remains to be seen. If he can do it all naturally, it will earn him at least one tick in the integrity box.
Miller promises to beat Pero’s ass so badly he’ll take a boat back to Cuba
“I’m going to beat this b****’* ass come April 25,“ Miller said at an earlier press conference announcing the fight.
“I’m going to beat his ass so bad he might take a boat back to Cuba after this ass-whooping. Come April 25, ain’t going to be no moving around. I’m going to run him the f*** over.
“The toupee thing was something that was definitely not planned but we ran with it and it worked in our favor,” added Miller.
“Kingsley [Ibeh] was not a walkover, he gave me a run for my money, but I take an ugly win over a good loss any day. Pero called me out before which I was shocked by, but come April 25 I’ll be whooping his ass real good.
“I need someone to get my juices running. It’s not going to be any of that pretty moving around, I’m going back to the old school. He’s going to try to move around and box, I’ve seen the stuff he does in the gym, but I’m going to beat the brakes off his ass, trust me.”
Responding with a touch more class than the vulgar New Yorker, Pero said: “I’m going to put on a boxing clinic. I’m going to show him what Cuban boxing is. On that night, I’m going to show you how elegant it can be, but I will stop him and I’ll stop him quickly.“
Jarrell Miller vs Lenier Pero Fight Prediction
Miller’s career has been littered with losses. Not all in the ring either. Whenever his reputation was growing, Miller snared a high-paying spot against Anthony Joshua in New York for AJ’s American debut. He messed it up by getting popped for PEDs, Andy Ruiz stepped in and the rest is history.
He later lost momentum against the aforementioned Ruiz when they fought and was held to a draw. Daniel Dubois inflicted a stoppage loss on him. The Fabio Wardley fight was lost when he withdrew once again under a cloud of suspicion (cough, cough). Against Kingsley Ibeh he lost his toupee mid-fight. Should he have lost the actual fight itself? Some suggest so. I thought he squeaked over the line and so did the judges.
With all that said, Pero has underachieved at key moments, under the lights on highlight spots. His brother, Dainier, is probably a better fighter. Miller is a trash-talker, and yet I feel like I know more about him.
His temperament, his engine, his punch output. All should be enough to take over in the second half of the fight and pound out a decision or, perhaps, if Pero folds, a late stoppage. The Cuban is more talented and the more wholesome product moving towards a world title shot, but I don’t think he has it in him to get over the line.
Jarrell Miller vs Lenier Pero Full Card
- Jarrell Miller vs. Lenier Pero, 12 rounds, WBA heavyweight eliminator
- Alan Chaves vs. Miguel Madueno, 10 rounds, lightweights
- Freudis Rojas vs. Damian Sosa, 10 rounds, junior middleweights
- Angel Barrientes vs. Isaac Rojas Garcia, 10 rounds, junior featherweights
- Phillip Vella vs. Edwin Rodriguez, 6 rounds, bantamweights
- Nishant Dev vs. Juan Carlos Guerra Jr., 8 rounds, junior middleweights
- Jorge Ruiz vs. Harley Laws Jr., 6 rounds, featherweights
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