Jarrell Miller is on a revenge mission after watching Andy Ruiz reap the rewards of the most damaging moment of his career.
It was in June 2019 when Miller tested positive for the banned substance GW501516 and was denied by the New York State Athletic Commission a license to fight. He had been scheduled to challenge Anthony Joshua, then the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion, in a career-defining occasion at Madison Square Garden.
Ruiz, at relatively late notice, replaced him and caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of the heavyweight division when he stopped the previously undefeated Joshua in seven rounds.
The 34-year-old Ruiz lost his titles to Joshua in a rematch later that year, but victory transformed his career and his life. Miller, 36, has remained on the outside looking in, and will know that any fading hopes he has of challenging for a world title are dependent on him defeating Ruiz on Saturday at Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium.
“This fight is not personal,” Miller started, before proceeding to say, “Andy replaced me a couple of years ago and got that big check and now I have to fuck him up. I’m going to turn his ass into burritos and nachos after this one.
“I feel great. I haven’t been eating like my man Andy here. I put down the tacos, burritos, the burgers and hard work baby.
“I come to win. I come to knock people out. I destroy people. He may be the ‘Destroyer’ but I’m the one who destroys people. Ready to work.
“This is the opportunity to get back what I’ve lost. Me and Eddie [Hearn, Joshua’s promoter] have a bromance hell or behave relationship. But that’s life. You become a man. Have a conversation and sort things out and move on and move forward.”
Ruiz has fought twice, defeating Chris Arreola and then Luis Ortiz, since losing to Joshua in December 2019. It is nearing two years since the victory over Ortiz.
“Burritos and Nachos have been helping win all my fights and become champion of the world so nothing wrong about that,” he said. “And that is exactly what I’m going to do on August 3. I’m going to win. I’m going to get this victory and this victory will be for God.
“No matter how tall you are, how big you are and how much muscle you have, it’s all about what you have inside. And I have a big heart.
“I feel really good. I feel sharp. We did all the hard work in the gym. Yes, I had a two-year layoff but that doesn’t mean that I was outside of the gym. I was still training. I was still disciplined. Even through my ups and downs, God was with me and that’s why we are going to win on Saturday night.
“I had it all and I want it back. I was the unified heavyweight champion of the world and then boom. It went away. I want it back and I have to do. I know exactly what I did wrong. And I know what I have to do to get it all back.”
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