Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller has tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance once again, according to a report from the United States.
‘Big Baby’ had been due to face Anthony Joshua for the IBF, WBA and WBO world heavyweight titles at Madison Square Garden last June, before he tested positive for not one, not two but three PEDs in the countdown to the fight. Late stand-in Andy Ruiz Jr would then come in to shock the world by handing Joshua his first professional defeat in a stunning upset.
The 31-year-old Miller (23-0-1) had been due to make his ring return from suspension and the COVID-19 hiatus against Jerry Forrest (26-3) in Las Vegas on ESPN on July 9 after recently being licensed to fight by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. But according to Mike Coppinger of The Athletic, that will not now happen thanks to yet another failed test for a PED by the Brooklyn fighter.
Breaking: Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller has tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance and has been pulled from July 9 fight with Jerry Forrest on ESPN, sources tell The Athletic. Miller was set to fight Anthony Joshua last year before testing positive for three PEDs
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) June 27, 2020
Thanks to that suspension from before the planned Joshua fight, and the COVID-19 pandemic, Miller has now been inactive since knocking out Romanian Bogdan Dinu back in November 2018.
When Miller signed for Bob Arum’s Top Rank back in January, he said: “Minor setback for a major comeback. I’m coming for everything and everyone. No one is safe. Say hello to the bad guy.
“Everyone wants to portray the superhero. We don’t live in a sunshine world. I’ll never be the superhero. In my world, the majority of the time, the villain wins.”
Miller had admitted that he “messed up” when he failed those tests ahead of the planned Joshua fight, and now after this latest news, the question must be whether he will ever be given such a golden opportunity again.
Forrest’s promoter Lou DiBella told The Athletic: “I expected him (Miller) to be with astute enough PED people that since this fight was made with under 30 days’ notice that he would by cycling down and wouldn’t be caught. But I assumed he would be dirty and told Jerry, and Jerry said he would beat him anyway.”