BoxRec

Fabio Wardley vs. Jarrell Miller Being Finalized For June 7 At Portman Stadium

Fabio Wardley and Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller are finalizing a deal for a June 7 heavyweight fight at Portman Stadium in Wardley’s hometown of Ipswich, England, sources told The Ring.

Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs) is The Ring’s No. 9 heavyweight. The 30-year will face the most accomplished opponent of his professional career in Miller. The Brooklyn, New York, native is coming off a controversial draw with former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz in August that most observers felt Miller won.

Miller’s lone career defeat is a 10th-round TKO loss to Daniel Dubois in December 2023.

Wardley will enter the ring on the heels of a career-best performance, a brutal first-round KO of Frazer Clarke in an October rematch in Riyadh. In the first meeting, Wardley and Clarke fought to a draw in a memorable heavyweight slugfest in March of last year.

Miller (26-1-2, 22 KOs) has been suspended multiple times for performance-enhancing-drug use. In 2019, a drug ban scrapped his title shot against Anthony Joshua.

Miller, a 36-year-old fighter, weighed 305.6 pounds in August when it was announced that the Ruiz fight would take place. Wardley, on the other hand, weighed 241.6 pounds

Awesome matchmaking! Can't fail to deliver. I would buy a ticket.

Great fight, great test.

I've finally come round to Wardley - he's not a "white collar boxer" anymore.

Yes!
Fabs enters the world stage and Miller is tough enough to give him a good contest.
I expect Fabio to do better than Fat Andy.
Bring it on!

skanksta wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025, 14:32 Great fight, great test.

I've finally come round to Wardley - he's not a "white collar boxer" anymore.

Yes. Wardley is a bone fide hard man. He's not the best boxer and never will be but he is as game as a badger, powerful and exciting. I hope he makes an absolute fortune.

Miller is always a good watch, busy and tough too, so what's not to like in this match?

Franks got enough money in the bank from Saudi and now DAZN money.. he’s making some good fights..

Should be a good one!

Easy Wardley win in UK.

Miller won't get around the testing like in Saudi. Comes with either low output or pulls out.

With that said, why didn't Ruiz get a shot when the Saudi money was there.

Lad should have been in the mix.

Miller has a good chin and good work rate. Wardley will need to use his speed and footwork to avoid getting into a brawl. That's said, Wardley should be able to dispatch post-PED Miller.

Did Wardley not have a mandatory against Pulev's WBA Regular belt called? After Wardley in the rankings comes Hunter who never seems to take a fight then Itauma... Could this be Frank trying up Wardley so that he can get Itauma his "title shot" and call him the second youngest heavyweight champ ever? That would be an absolute farce and I hope Frank gets ridiculed for it should it happen.

fun fight to watch. will be fireworks, reckon Fab will have him out of there around round 6-7. Miller will take a bit of tenderising though

Didn't see this fight on the horizon !

Good test for Wardley.

joshj909 wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025, 15:47
Did Wardley not have a mandatory against Pulev's WBA Regular belt called? After Wardley in the rankings comes Hunter who never seems to take a fight then Itauma... Could this be Frank trying up Wardley so that he can get Itauma his "title shot" and call him the second youngest heavyweight champ ever? That would be an absolute farce and I hope Frank gets ridiculed for it should it happen.

You could be right there… This is an excellent fight for Fabio to take, but you’d think he would not be too happy about having the deck shuffled and his “world title” ( daft as it is ) disappear

MightyWarrior wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 01:16

joshj909 wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025, 15:47
Did Wardley not have a mandatory against Pulev's WBA Regular belt called? After Wardley in the rankings comes Hunter who never seems to take a fight then Itauma... Could this be Frank trying up Wardley so that he can get Itauma his "title shot" and call him the second youngest heavyweight champ ever? That would be an absolute farce and I hope Frank gets ridiculed for it should it happen.

You could be right there… This is an excellent fight for Fabio to take, but you’d think he would not be too happy about having the deck shuffled and his “world title” ( daft as it is ) disappear

He wasn’t called as a mandatory was he? Can’t remember now. I applaud him for taking this fight rather than Pulev though.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 03:48I applaud him for taking this fight rather than Pulev though.

Me too. Pulev is a shot to shyte and I've no interest in him whatsoever now.

If Wardley fights Miller, he can have some of my money and even more respect. Definitely my favourite British fighter.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 03:48

MightyWarrior wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 01:16

joshj909 wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025, 15:47
Did Wardley not have a mandatory against Pulev's WBA Regular belt called? After Wardley in the rankings comes Hunter who never seems to take a fight then Itauma... Could this be Frank trying up Wardley so that he can get Itauma his "title shot" and call him the second youngest heavyweight champ ever? That would be an absolute farce and I hope Frank gets ridiculed for it should it happen.

You could be right there… This is an excellent fight for Fabio to take, but you’d think he would not be too happy about having the deck shuffled and his “world title” ( daft as it is ) disappear

He wasn’t called as a mandatory was he? Can’t remember now. I applaud him for taking this fight rather than Pulev though.

As for Kubrat Pulev, the WBA Regular Champion, he must defend his title against Fabio Wardley, who is currently the number one ranked contender. The mandatory defense period will begin on March 5, 2025, and conclude on April 4, 2025.

The winner of Pulev vs. Wardley—or Pulev in the case of a draw—must then face Michael Hunter, the third-ranked contender, in a mandatory defense within 120 days of that bout, with a final deadline of October 25, 2025.

https://www.wbaboxing.com/boxing-news/w ... t-division

joshj909 wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 04:25

As for Kubrat Pulev, the WBA Regular Champion, he must defend his title against Fabio Wardley, who is currently the number one ranked contender. The mandatory defense period will begin on March 5, 2025, and conclude on April 4, 2025.

The winner of Pulev vs. Wardley—or Pulev in the case of a draw—must then face Michael Hunter, the third-ranked contender, in a mandatory defense within 120 days of that bout, with a final deadline of October 25, 2025.

https://www.wbaboxing.com/boxing-news/w ... t-division

Ah, so that's now passed..

If Miller comes in decent shape he could cause a lot of problems for Wardley.

He has some beard on him and a work rate. He dragged Danny Boy deep for a while and he might take Wardley there too

Wardley gassed pretty badly in the first Clarke fight, so it could get rough for him in there

Blimey I didn’t know The Saudis had put Coppinger in the payroll. I remember him being paid by Kinahan and doing PR for him before it all kicked off and he went radio silence.

Fat lad should have had a life ban, only a matter of time that one of these cheats kills another fighter.

damage wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 04:49 Fat lad should have had a life ban, only a matter of time that one of these cheats kills another fighter.

He’s failed so many tests hasn’t he and always has a terrible excuse. I was surprised about the HGH though, it usually helps you get a lot leaner

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 04:52

damage wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 04:49 Fat lad should have had a life ban, only a matter of time that one of these cheats kills another fighter.

He’s failed so many tests hasn’t he and always has a terrible excuse. I was surprised about the HGH though, it usually helps you get a lot leaner

He was probably injecting it with chips

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 04:46 Blimey I didn’t know The Saudis had put Coppinger in the payroll. I remember him being paid by Kinahan and doing PR for him before it all kicked off and he went radio silence.

He only just got on the payroll a couple days ago.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 04:58

SeanBrennan wrote: ↑05 Apr 2025, 04:46 Blimey I didn’t know The Saudis had put Coppinger in the payroll. I remember him being paid by Kinahan and doing PR for him before it all kicked off and he went radio silence.

He only just got on the payroll a couple days ago.

Cheers Ruthless

There's no real need to test Miller other than post fight if the fight is made and even then only if Fabio loses. We all know his history and can make deductions on his present based on that.

Fabio will make his mark and money as a warrior fighting these guys like Miller, dopers or not. A heavyweight Arturo Gatti is a breath of fresh air.

Wardley should have five more fights win or lose and then walk away.

Miller
Joyce/Hrgovic
Adelaye 2
Kabayal
Itauma