The comeback of heavyweight Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller continued Saturday night at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The 328lb Miller (25-0-1, 20 KOs) scored a fourth round KO over Derek Cardenas (8-19, 7 KOs). Big Baby dropped Cardenas in round three and finished him in round four. Time was 1:43. Miller is now 2-0 since resuming his career last month after a three-and-a-half year hiatus.
In the main event, heavyweight Rydell Mayes Jr. (13-1, 12 KOs) avenged his KO loss last year to Jaden Booth (3-5, 3 KOs) with a first round TKO. A barrage by Mayes prompted a very quick referee’s stoppage. Booth took some shots, but didn’t appear particularly hurt.
Unbeaten heavyweight and former UFC fighter Alan Belcher (5-0, 5 KOs) scored a fifth round TKO over 42-year-old Rayford Johnson (12-29, 6 KOs). Johnson was given a standing eight in round one. Belcher, 38, pretty much won all the exchanges, but Johnson was game and kept throwing. Belcher was deducted a point in round four for a throwdown. The bout was finally stopped in round five. Time was 2:14.
Welterweight Eridanni Leon (7-4, 3 KOs) punished Anthony Woods (1-37-1, 1 KO) for two rounds. Woods got two standing eights in round one and was battered to the deck in round two before Leon knocked him through the ropes to end it. Time was 1:09.
Not the toughest opponent in the World, but at least Miller’s weight is headed in the right direction. He was 341 in his fight last month, and 328 tonight. I wonder what his weight was up to during his 3 1/2 years off….
Yes, I wonder the same thing about Miller’s weight when he was off for years. I bet he ballooned up pretty hefty since the dinner plate was not his toughest opponent during the layoff.
It is a good sign and it will be interesting to see where he settles. He was consistently up in the 300s before the time off, probably be 300 something for the rest of his career.
Both fighters a picture of fitness……… not!!!!! What a joke heavyweight boxing has become!
Look at fat baseball players
garbage……
Impressive. He beat up a morbidly obese loser. Get him a title shot right away.
One day a PED cheat will kill another boxer in the ring. When that happens, the people defending this clown should be really proud of themselves.
Drugs have no place in our sport and anyone who fails the test should have a life ban.
Fail one test and you get a lifetime ban?? I don’t agree with that. People are flawed to a hilarious degree, all of us — including and especially the person you took your name after — we’re allowed to make mistakes and exercise bad judgment. You cannot ‘human-proof’ anything that involves humans.
You cannot human-proof anything involving humans, but there are, and should be, consequences when you are unable/unwilling to follow the rules. I agree with you (Lucie) that one and done on a failed drug test is kind of harsh, but Miller has cheated twice now I believe. I wonder at what point does he get booted permanently? There has to be a limit I would think….
FWIW, I think that something like the BS that Panama Lewis/Luis Resto pulled is a one & done penalty. Yes, they are human and flawed like the rest of us, but putting plaster on the handwraps and removing the padding from the gloves should have put them out of the sport forever. That was thought-out and intentional, and put Collins in greater danger in an already dangerous sport. Just my 2 cents…
He’s actually cheated three times now, once was as a kickboxer. I was responding to a statement that someone who fails A test should be banned forever USF. I think people deserve second chances. That’s my main point. Yes, you take your lumps and face the consequences (and he has. He’s gone from being about to make millions, potentially, to being a big joke basically and having to sit out his entire physical prime), that’s also part of being human in my opinion.
And I do agree that there are certain severe cases where one action removes a privilege forever, but even in the cases of Panama Lewis and Margarito’s trainer, if I recall correctly, they were allowed to train fighters and do everything they did previously. They just could not attend the fight and obviously work the corner.
“I think people deserve second chances.”
Me too, and I pretty much agreed with your entire statement, just questioning how many chances someone like Miller should get. I believe something like the Lewis/Resto situation should be an exception to the second chance thing, but you’re right about Lewis being let back in after serving whatever his suspension was. I remember him in Sultan Ibragimov’s corner years after the Resto-Collins bout. I believe you’re right about Margarito’s trainer as well…
I understand and, after his last positive, had they come out and said ‘three strikes and you’re out’ to Miller, I couldn’t say anything much for him (I think, TECHNICALLY, it was two because one of his positives occurred while he was unlicensed or something like that).
I thought I remembered an HBO fight with George Foreman talking about Panama Lewis being in someone’s corner and Lampley saying something like “we don’t even want to get into that”.
I couldn’t disagree more; who isn’t on something? If athletes can perform better then why can’t the rest of us do so as well? If there are drugs that can improve my life I would be the first in line to get them. I was a pro athlete and believe me, everyone was looking for an edge. We inhale and eat poison daily. The air is full of contamination and so is our water. Instead of making believe we are all so noble let’s get realistic instead. The big pharmaceutical companies own us and we are forced to get Covid shots? They don’t even work? Give me the good stuff and give our politicians have the garbage.
Hiatus? Wasn’t he suspended/banned for multiple failed drug tests? Lets not make it sound like he went on an emotional and spiritual journey…
Quite the comeback beating a guy with a record of 8-19 sure that all top heavyweights are thinking avoid this man lol
Almost looks like he is fighting Ruiz.
Was Big Baby off 3 1/2 years for PEDs? Seems like a long time for that. A career ender. Seems some have gotten about 5 minutes off and then they’re back.
Miller failed multiple tests.
R they testing him now?
At that weight I hope they are testing his cholesterol as well as PED use
More like fat baby. Lol