Fabio Wardley set to face Anthony Joshua’s fierce rival at Premier League ground after ‘scared’ Kubrat Pulev rejected fight
Fabio Wardley will face Jarrell Miller next, not Kubrat Pulev. Pulev was ordered to defend his lesser WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight belt against Wardley earlier this month. Wardley is 18-0-1 and previously held the British and Commonwealth titlesMark Robinson/Matchroom However, Wardley revealed to talkSPORT.com that Pulev rejected an offer from his team, resulting in Miller getting the call to face him in a WBA interim title fight on June 7 in the avid Ipswich Town fan’s homecoming fight at Portman Road. “In simple terms, he is scared of me and didn’t want the fight,” Wardley said during an exclusive interview with talkSPORT. “In my last fight [against Frazer Clarke], I pricked up a few ears. “It made a few people pay attention, or made a few people cower and turn away. “It isn’t the first fight we’ve offered that has been turned down, and it probably won’t be the last. “That is a little bit of credit I may give to Jarrell Miller. He said yes, and there wasn’t much hesitation… “I probably don’t see that fight [with Pulev] ever happening because I’m only going to get better. “So I don’t expect him to turn around and change his mind unless he reads this interview and gets a bit angry.” Miller (26-1-2) hasn’t competed since being held to a majority draw by Andy Ruiz Jr last August, while Daniel Dubois remains the only man to have beaten him. British boxing fans will remember ‘Big Baby’ best for his doomed fight with Anthony Joshua. Miller will face Wardley in his homecoming fightMark Robinson/Matchroom Pulev was ordered to fight Wardley but chose not toDave Thompson/Matchroom The brash American heavyweight was due to square off with AJ at New York’s Madison Square Garden in June 2019. However, Miller failed multiple pre-fight drug tests, leading to their bout being cancelled. Ruiz Jr then stepped in on short notice and shocked the boxing world by knocking out Joshua in the seventh round. “Jarrell Miller is Jarrell Miller, you know what he brings,” Wardley continued. “It’s not like he’s going to turn up and start dancing around the ring like Muhammad Ali. “He is a big 300lbs steam roller of a man. And to be fair, for a man of that size, he does have a high work rate. Wardley vs Miller will take place at Ipswich Town ground, Portman RoadGetty “So he does put together his shots, he does keep the pressure on you, but for me on a technical level, I don’t see too much of a threat. “In a roundabout overall on him, he is big, strong, can put work in and can punch. “Those things, I believe, are easy for me to work around. I can switch between engaging with him in a back-and-forth, or I can pick and move. “It’s going to be more difficult working out which version of me is going to show up, as opposed to be trying to figure out which Jarrell Miller is going to show up. “He’s had 30 odd fights, and I don’t think his style has changed at all… “I’m looking forward to it, and doing it in front of 30,000 fans at Portman Road is going to be something special. “The fans, the club, the town have been crying out for this for a long time in my career. “And that is such a special feeling to know that my town and my club are right behind me, but I always wanted to make sure I was doing it properly. “It is a big fight, there’s a lot on the line. He is a very highly ranked opponent, and he brings a lot of action.” Miller doesn’t just bring the heat inside the ring, he’s also a loose cannon outside of it. Tempers flared when he shoved Joshua at their launch press conference in New York, while he has never shied away from controversy. Asked how he will deal with Miller’s erratic nature, Wardley added: “Listen, if he wants to pick up a table, I can pick up a table too. It is not a problem. Miller is a loose cannon “When it comes to press conferences and back and forth, I’ve had all the aggressive back and forth, the screaming in your face, the pushes, the shoves. “That’s nothing new to me. It’s something I am very much comfortable doing. If he wants to give it a go, then cool, no worries.” Follow talkBOXING on social media talkBOXING is now on Twitter and Facebook. Follow us on social media for big breaking boxing news, exclusive interviews and the best bits from our talkBOXING YouTube show. Like our Facebook page HERE Follow us on Twitter HERE Sign up for our WhatsApp channel HERE
Fabio Wardley will face Jarrell Miller next, not Kubrat Pulev.
Pulev was ordered to defend his lesser WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight belt against Wardley earlier this month.
However, Wardley revealed to talkSPORT.com that Pulev rejected an offer from his team, resulting in Miller getting the call to face him in a WBA interim title fight on June 7 in the avid Ipswich Town fan’s homecoming fight at Portman Road.
“In simple terms, he is scared of me and didn’t want the fight,” Wardley said during an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.
“In my last fight [against Frazer Clarke], I pricked up a few ears.
“It made a few people pay attention, or made a few people cower and turn away.
“It isn’t the first fight we’ve offered that has been turned down, and it probably won’t be the last.
“That is a little bit of credit I may give to Jarrell Miller. He said yes, and there wasn’t much hesitation…
“I probably don’t see that fight [with Pulev] ever happening because I’m only going to get better.
“So I don’t expect him to turn around and change his mind unless he reads this interview and gets a bit angry.”
Miller (26-1-2) hasn’t competed since being held to a majority draw by Andy Ruiz Jr last August, while Daniel Dubois remains the only man to have beaten him.
British boxing fans will remember ‘Big Baby’ best for his doomed fight with Anthony Joshua.
The brash American heavyweight was due to square off with AJ at New York’s Madison Square Garden in June 2019.
However, Miller failed multiple pre-fight drug tests, leading to their bout being cancelled.
Ruiz Jr then stepped in on short notice and shocked the boxing world by knocking out Joshua in the seventh round.
“Jarrell Miller is Jarrell Miller, you know what he brings,” Wardley continued.
“It’s not like he’s going to turn up and start dancing around the ring like Muhammad Ali.
“He is a big 300lbs steam roller of a man. And to be fair, for a man of that size, he does have a high work rate.
“So he does put together his shots, he does keep the pressure on you, but for me on a technical level, I don’t see too much of a threat.
“In a roundabout overall on him, he is big, strong, can put work in and can punch.
“Those things, I believe, are easy for me to work around. I can switch between engaging with him in a back-and-forth, or I can pick and move.
“It’s going to be more difficult working out which version of me is going to show up, as opposed to be trying to figure out which Jarrell Miller is going to show up.
“He’s had 30 odd fights, and I don’t think his style has changed at all…
“I’m looking forward to it, and doing it in front of 30,000 fans at Portman Road is going to be something special.
“The fans, the club, the town have been crying out for this for a long time in my career.
“And that is such a special feeling to know that my town and my club are right behind me, but I always wanted to make sure I was doing it properly.
“It is a big fight, there’s a lot on the line. He is a very highly ranked opponent, and he brings a lot of action.”
Miller doesn’t just bring the heat inside the ring, he’s also a loose cannon outside of it.
Tempers flared when he shoved Joshua at their launch press conference in New York, while he has never shied away from controversy.
Asked how he will deal with Miller’s erratic nature, Wardley added: “Listen, if he wants to pick up a table, I can pick up a table too. It is not a problem.
“When it comes to press conferences and back and forth, I’ve had all the aggressive back and forth, the screaming in your face, the pushes, the shoves.
“That’s nothing new to me. It’s something I am very much comfortable doing. If he wants to give it a go, then cool, no worries.”
