Eddie Hearn has revealed what was said during his confrontation with Jarrell Miller in November, when the promoter and the American heavyweight were seen getting into a heated conversation at a press conference.
On 23 December, Hearn’s marquee fighter Anthony Joshua will box Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia, on the same fight card that pits Miller against Daniel Dubois. Last month, all four heavyweights were present at a press conference for the event – labelled ‘Day of Reckoning’ – and Joshua and Miller traded barbs, four years on from their own ill-fated clash.
Joshua vs Miller fell through in 2019, when the latter tested positive for numerous banned substances, leading “AJ” to box Andy Ruiz Jr in June of that year. Joshua suffered a shock TKO in that fight, but the Briton avenged the loss with a decision win six months later.
And while Joshua, 34, and Miller, 35, had their own back-and-forth at the ‘Day of Reckoning’ press conference, Hearn also traded words with Miller.
Speaking to Seconds Out on Sunday (3 December), Hearn claimed: “Miller came up to me and he said, ‘Oh, you’re scared now.’ I went: ‘I ain’t f***ing scared of you. I know what you did.’
“‘He went, ‘Why didn’t you back me like you backed Conor Benn?’ I said: ‘Because I don’t believe you.’
“And he said, ‘Well next time when you’re in New York, I’ll have someone pull up on you,’ and I said: ‘Go f*** yourself.’’
Hearn, right, with former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua— (PA Wire)
Miller was referring to Hearn’s allegiance to Conor Benn, whose two failed drug tests in 2022 saw the welterweight stripped of his licence by the British Boxing Board of Control. Benn, 27, has maintained his innocence in the time since, and Hearn has stood by his fighter. Benn returned to the ring in the United States in September, but he is still unable to box in the UK.
Joshua vs Wallin and Miller vs Dubois are just two of numerous big-name fights that will take place at the ‘Day of Reckoning’ event; Deontay Wilder will box Joseph Parker, while Dmitry Bivol is in action against Lyndon Arthur earlier in the evening. The majority of bouts on 23 December are heavyweight contests.
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