Jarrell Miller: I'm The Guy That People Never Saw Coming

By Thomas Gerbasi

Before he was “Big Baby,” Jarrell Miller was just another teenager on the New York City boxing scene, but one of the stars of that scene, Dmitriy Salita, saw something special in him.

“He used to go to training camps with me, so I knew him since he was 15, 16 years old,” Salita said. “And that personality and the likeable cockiness that he has, that’s something that you can’t teach. It’s just something that he always had, and as he’s matured and developed with age and experience, it’s something that’s invaluable. You can teach somebody how to jab or throw a right hand, but he has things that you can’t teach. I’ll go far enough to say that he has all the ingredients to be the face of boxing.”

Those are strong words, and from a man who would eventually become his co-promoter, expected ones. But beyond such hyperbole lies a decent amount of truth. Miller, who fights Fred Kassi on ShoBox this Friday, is still early on in his pro boxing career, but the potential is there for him to make some noise in a division that is starting to show signs of life again after a long drought.

The 28-year-old Miller isn’t interested in being part of the crowd, though. He wants to be the whole damn show.

“I’m that guy,” he said. “I’m the guy that people never saw coming. I feel like it’s just a matter time. The more people hear me, the more people talk to me, they go ‘that kid is the real deal.’”

He’s got the charisma and the power. In heavyweight boxing that’s two-thirds of the battle. The other third is beating the right opponents at the right time. For the 17-0-1 (15 KOs) Miller, Kassi is that guy right now. That doesn’t mean the fighter is content with going at the right pace. Guys like Miller never are, but he is going to do what’s necessary to pave his road to the top.

“You’ve got to really go back to the drawing board and assess your situation,” he said. “How many different routes can I take to get to where I need to go and which one’s going to be the most effective route and where am I going to be able to pull the most fans and publicity from? I’ve done my homework, and sometimes when you invent something, you don’t want to invent something totally new; that’s not where money comes from. Any time there’s going to be an invention, it usually comes from an old idea which is invented in a new way. You don’t really change the blueprint; you change the person who is using the blueprint. I just take what Jack Johnson, Ali, Floyd and Mike Tyson and all these people did, and I’m going to turn it up to the next level. I’m gonna go in there, whup ass, and talk s**t about whoever’s around. These guys are not calling opponents out, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Of course, when a fighter with 18 fights starts calling for the top dogs in the division, that can bring some negative heat from fans and the media. Miller has heard it. He doesn’t care.

“They say, ‘Oh, he just wants a payday like (former IBF champion) Charles Martin. Look at my track record. I am nothing like Charles Martin. I don’t go in there for a payday. I’m going in there for legacy; it’s a totally different story. The money’s gonna come. My main thing is to be my own boss, have my own promotional company and production company and I’m learning more about being the best that I can be. I feel like a lot of guys just want to go in there, make a couple dollars, then just quit. That’s just not me. Little by little, they’re gonna realize who ‘Big Baby’ is and they’re gonna realize what I bring to the table. Trust me, I’m the best thing for American boxing right now. I’m the best thing for boxing.”

Salita obviously agrees, and while a shot at a title isn’t on the horizon, one intriguing matchup that could be made is against fellow unbeaten Andy Ruiz Jr., who recently improved to 28-0 on one of Salita’s cards in Detroit. After the “Destroyer” finished Josh Gormley in three rounds, Miller entered the ring to call Ruiz out.

“It (a fight with Ruiz) is something that Jarrell is interested in and he’s asked me to do my best to try and make it,” Salita said. “Obviously, he has something very important in front of him and a very credible opponent a couple days from now, but it’s something that we’re interested in pursuing. Obviously, the winner of that becomes the best young heavyweight prospect in boxing, so it’s a very meaningful fight, and something that I’ll be interested in making. Very rarely do you see young fighters, especially in the heavyweight division, that are so ambitious to fight the top guys. Jarrell is calling everybody out, but he truly believes that he can beat them. He truly believes that he’s better than all those guys.”

And he’s willing to prove it. All he wants is a chance, but he believes that starting with the Kassi fight, “Big Baby” is going to have some big believers.

“They’re going to say, ‘Holy s**t, the cat is out of the hat, the dog is out of the cage, the gorilla is out of the zoo, the champ is here,’” Miller bellows. “Something’s just awoken, it’s me, it’s ugly, but god damn, we love seeing it. This is what’s coming.”