Jarrell Miller vs. Lenier Pero | DAZN - April 25, 2026

[Ruthless-RKO]

Lenier Pero stays focused on chance of a lifetime: ‘I’m ready to take it’

Lenier Pero must beat Jarrell Miller to land the chance of a lifetime: a world title shot.

The two heavyweights will compete in the main event on Saturday at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas. The bout will be contested for the WBA heavyweight title eliminator.

Pero, 13-0 (8 KOs), is a fight away from achieving his dream. A 33-year-old Cuban who trained for the fight in Las Vegas, Pero has mostly flown under the radar to this point in his career. Now it’s his opportunity to earn a new level of attention with a main event bout.

“A win here gets me the world title shot I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid,” Pero told BS via translator. “My dream of becoming a world champion is so close, I’m going to leave it all in the ring.”

Miller, 27-1-2 (22 KOs), has had a wild recent run of fights. In 2024, he was stopped by Daniel Dubois, then followed that up with a draw against Andy Ruiz Jnr. In January, Miller, of North Bellmore, New York, won a split decision over Kinglsey Ibeh. The 37-year-old Miller was noticed less for his performance and more for his wig coming off mid-fight.

“Jarrell Miller is a tough guy – he brings pressure, he throws a lot of punches, that’s what stands out to me,” Pero said. “The other stuff, that’s just noise. I focus on what he does in the ring. I see his strengths, but I also see openings.”

Pero spent his five-week training for Miller by sparring the likes of Jared Anderson in preparation. A bout with Miller had been speculated on in the past, but for Pero, it was never about matching up with a certain name. He was solely focused on putting himself in position to cement himself as a main-card fighter and to contend for a title.

“In the heavyweight division, you always know certain fights can happen at any time,” Pero said. “Fighters get hurt, fights fall out. It’s boxing. I’ve been ready for opportunities like this, and I’m going to take advantage. Whether it was offered before or not doesn’t matter; what matters is that it’s here now, and I’m ready to take it.”

[joshj909]

At best it gets him a shot at the WBA regular belt

[Ruthless-RKO]

Future is bright for Jarrell Miller-Lenier Pero winner, with or without Oleksander Usyk

In boxing, one great night can lead to a series of big fights, especially in the heavyweight division.

Jarrell Miller and Lenier Pero know this all too well heading into Saturday’s bout at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas. The fight is a WBA heavyweight eliminator.

The 37-year-old Miller enters the bout off a split decision win over Kingsley Ibeh in January. Miller, 27-1-2 (22 KOs), lost his wig in the fight and didn’t look his best. At the press conference on Thursday, looking slimmer than earlier this year, he admitted that his path to victory might not be pretty but he believes he will run over Pero.

“I am going to have fun beating his ass,” Miller said at the press conference. “I am going to paint his face bloody red come Saturday night.”

Pero, 13-0 (8 KOs), was not keen on Miller’s trash talk.

“He would be a great commentator, because you love the microphone,” Pero said back via translator at the press conference.

Miller, of North Bellmore, New York, added a new wrinkle to this camp, training in Philadelphia with “Bozy” Ennis, the father and trainer of Jaron “Boots” Ennis.

“He better not run forward,” Ennis said at the press conference. “If he comes forward, he is going to catch hell.”

The 33-year-old Pero is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision over Jordan Thompson in November. Cuba’s Pero, who held his training camps in Las Vegas with trainer Bob Santos, is ready for the pre-fight stuff to be over. He wants his talking to happen on fight night.

“He has been talking a lot of bullshit, as you say in English, but that doesn’t affect my psychology in any way,” Pero said. “I am going to go in there and break him, and like the old-school fighters who never spoke on social media and did their talking in the ring with their fists, that is exactly what I am going to do.”

The unknown is where this road leads. The winner will fight for the WBA heavyweight title, but will unified and former undisputed heavyweight titleholder Oleksandr Usyk still have the belt? Usyk, who will face kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23, appears to be focusing on spectacle bouts, which begs the question whether Miller or Pero will fit the bill for one of his final fights.

Still, the Miller-Pero winner immediately becomes a name in the division. Even if they don’t hold a title, they will be a capable and credible challenger for fighters such as Anthony Joshua and Moses Itauma, to name a few. Or they could challenge Murat Gassiev, the WBA regular heavyweight titleholder.

The bout comes down to the mauling pressure of Miller versus Pero’s technical boxing ability. Yet Pero’s team cautions Miller about believing he will be able to walk down Pero.

“Easier said than done,” Santos said. “When he gets inside that squared circle, he is going to find out he is in there with the best guy he ever fought, and take that to the bank.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Miller not taking 'dangerous' Pero lightly before WBA title eliminator

Five months ago, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller and Lenier Pero shared the ring for the first time.

On Saturday, they’ll meet in the ring again, though, under entirely different circumstances.

Miller and Pero face off in a 12-round WBA heavyweight title eliminator in the main event of a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. While the outspoken and brash Miller (27-1-2, 19 KOs) has promised to run over Pero, he also knows the danger the Cuban southpaw presents.

“Anybody with two hands and willing to get in there and fight is going to be dangerous,” Miller told The Ring. “I'm not taking him lightly, but I know what I’ve got to do, and I know what I can do, and that's what we're going to do.”

Miller, 37, of New York, is coming off a split decision over Kingsley Ibeh in a 10-round bout on Jan. 31. The win was his first since March 2023, when he stopped Lucas Browne in the sixth round.

Late in the second round, Miller’s toupee was knocked loose after Ibeh connected with a combination. Rather than keep it atop his head, between the second and third round, Miller ripped off the hairpiece and threw it into the crowd.

Toupee-gate led to Miller going viral and landed him numerous national media appearances in the aftermath.

“I could never imagine it was going to be that big,” he said.

Pero (13-0, 8 KOs) last fought on Nov. 1, beating Jordan Thompson by one-sided unanimous decision in a 10-round bout. He had Thompson hurt late in the ninth round with a big left hand and followed up with a right hook that sent the Brit reeling to the ropes. Thompson managed to survive, as Pero was forced to settle for his second straight unanimous decision.

Miller was in attendance and stepped into the ring to call for a fight with Pero, 33, afterwards. Being there in person to see Pero is something that Miller believes could help him.

Miller added that he was unimpressed with what he saw from Pero against Thompson (15-3, 12 KOs), who once fought for a world title at cruiserweight but lost by fourth-round stoppage to Jai Opetaia in 2023.

“I didn’t think nothing of it,” Miller said. “He got a win against a cruiserweight [and] didn’t really hurt him too bad in any one moment. He got the win, but when he’s fighting Big Baby it’s a whole different story.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jarrell Miller vs Lenier Pero weigh-in results:

Jarrell Miller - 305 lbs
Lenier Pero - 251.4 lbs

[joshj909]

Jarrell Miller vs Lenier Pero weigh-in results:

Jarrell Miller - 305 lbs
Lenier Pero - 251.4 lbs

The sport is over when an obese heavyweight weighing over 300 wins the title (not those giants weighing that much). Fortunately, it won't be Miller.

[gilgamesh]

Pero is over 250 for only the 2nd time in his career as well. This fight feels like one that could go either way honestly we pretty much know exactly what we got in Miller at this point, Pero is still somewhat of an unknown commodity at least at this level.

[joshj909]

Pero is over 250 for only the 2nd time in his career as well. This fight feels like one that could go either way honestly we pretty much know exactly what we got in Miller at this point, Pero is still somewhat of an unknown commodity at least at this level.

Hopefully Pero actually turns up and shows is something. We know Miller's limitations and need new wild cards in the division.

[Cent0089]

Probably last chance for Miller to do something meaningful in boxing. Otherwise, he would be remembered just for that toupee.

[handsofstone]

Hopefully Pero will smash Miller and his fckn wig into oblivion

[Ruthless-RKO]

Fight Night?!!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Full weigh-in results are as follows:

Heavyweight – 12 rounds
Jarrell Miller (305.0lbs) vs Lenier Pero (251.4lbs)

Lightweight – 10 rounds
Alan Chaves (133.8) vs Miguel Madueno (135.0)

Junior middleweight – 10 rounds
Freudis Rojas (153.0) vs Damian Sosa (152.6)

Junior middleweight – eight rounds
Nishant Dev (154.8) vs Juan Carlos Guerra Jnr (155.8)

Junior featherweight – eight rounds

Angel Barrientes (122.6) vs Luis Espinoza (123.8)

Bantamweight – six rounds
Phillip Vella (119.0) vs Edwin Rodriguez (118.2)

[Ruthless-RKO]

Date: Saturday April 25, 2026
Location: Fontainebleau - Las Vegas, NV
TV/Stream: DAZN

Start Times
YouTube: 6 pm ET | 3 pm PT | 11 pm GMT (Preliminary Card)
DAZN: 8 pm ET | 5 pm PT | 1 am GMT (Main Card)

Promoted by: Matchroom Boxing

Fight Card

12 Round WBA Heavyweight Ttle Eliminator Bout
Jarrell Miller (27-1-2, 22 KOs) vs. Lenier Pero (13-0, 8 KOs)

WBO Latino lightweight Championship
Alan Chaves (21-0, 18 KOs) vs. Miguel Madueno (31-4, 28 KOs)

10 Round Super Welterweight Bout
Freudis Rojas Jr (15-0, 11 KOs) vs. Damian Sosa (26-3, 13 KOs)

10 Round Super Bantamweight Bout
Angel Barrientes (14-1, 9 KOs) vs. Isaac Rojas (18-0-1, 12 KOs)

6 Round Bantamweight Bout
Phillip Vella (5-0, 2 KOs) vs. Edwin Rodriguez (12-10-3, 5 KOs)

8 Round Super welterweight Bout
Nishant Dev (5-0, 3 KOs) vs. Juan Carlos Guerra Jr (6-2-1, 2 KOs)

[Ruthless-RKO]

Starting now

[closer]

Starting now

whos first up? having a hard time finding it

[gilgamesh]

Nishant Dev won by 2nd round TKO. Hard to tell if he'll be anything or not, the guy he was fighting tonight was pretty clumsy, and amateurish but game.

[closer]

Nishant Dev won by 2nd round TKO. Hard to tell if he'll be anything or not, the guy he was fighting tonight was pretty clumsy, and amateurish but game.

yeah, decent finish. Who do you have in the main event?

[gilgamesh]

Nishant Dev won by 2nd round TKO. Hard to tell if he'll be anything or not, the guy he was fighting tonight was pretty clumsy, and amateurish but game.

yeah, decent finish. Who do you have in the main event?

I expect a close decision either way honestly. I favor Pero for his youth, and presumably better conditioning, but like I say a close decision is what I expect, and you can never tell how a close decision may go.

[closer]

Nishant Dev won by 2nd round TKO. Hard to tell if he'll be anything or not, the guy he was fighting tonight was pretty clumsy, and amateurish but game.

yeah, decent finish. Who do you have in the main event?

I expect a close decision either way honestly. I favor Pero for his youth, and presumably better conditioning, but like I say a close decision is what I expect, and you can never tell how a close decision may go.

yeah, could be very close, draw possible whenever miller boxes, but miller does look quite a bit leaner, wil see if hes more active, could be exciting if he is.

[gilgamesh]

Lenier Pero takes the 1st round. Slow, feeling out round, but the only decent punches of the round were landed by Pero.

1-0 Pero

[gilgamesh]

Another good one for Pero in the 2nd round. In the 3rd he laid on the ropes a little too much, and went toe to toe with Miller. Both landed some good shots, but that type of fight favors Miller more, and he edged the 3rd.

2-1 Pero

[gilgamesh]

Pero's boxing ability already seems gone. He's just standing there toe to toe with Miller on the ropes. He's not gonna be able to win like this, and he doesn't seem capable of getting back to the Boxing that won him the first few rounds.

3-2 Miller

[gilgamesh]

Pero might've got the 6th round. Close round. Both guys are looking tired, and just kinda winging away in there.

3-3 even

[margaret thatcher]

miller won everything after the 2nd for me

[gilgamesh]

5-3 Miller

Pero sure ran out of gas awful quickly in this fight. Bad when a 300 plus pounder man has a better engine than you.