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Jarrell Miller faces veteran Fred Kassi Aug. 19 in Rochester on ShowBox

Fighters Network
30
Jun
Heavyweight standout Jarrell Miller nails Donovan Denis with a big right hand en route to stopping the game but out-gunned opponent in the seventh round. Photo by: Esther Lin / Showtime

Jarrell Miller nails Donovan Denis with a big right hand. Photo by: Esther Lin/Showtime

Undefeated Brooklyn heavyweight Jarrell Miller (17-0-1, 15 knockouts) has called out all the current blue-chip big men.

While he won’t be facing any of those familiar names, Miller will step up in competition when he headlines a ShowBox triple-header on Aug. 19 (10 p.m. ET) against veteran Fred Kassi at the outdoor soccer venue Rhinos Stadium in Rochester, New York, it was announced on Thursday.

Two undefeated bantamweight prospects will clash in the co-feature with Nikolay Potapov (14-0-1, 6 KOs) and Antonio Nieves (16-0-1, 8 KOs) squaring off in a 10-rounder. Welterweight knockout artist Bakhtiyar Eyubov (10-0, 10 KOs) will also step up and face Karim Mayfield (19-3-1, 11 KOs) in a 10-round bout to open the telecast.

Kassi (18-5-1, 10 KOs) was last in the ring against Hughie Fury in April, losing a technical decision after the bout was stopped because of a cut to Fury, who is Tyson’s cousin. Before then, he went the distance against Dominic Breazeale last September, losing a unanimous decision. His finest moment may have been a controversial majority draw against contender Chris Arreola last July in which Kassi showcased his boxing ability.



While “Big Fred” has fought the tougher opposition, he hasn’t won in four fights and is 36 compared to the 27-year-old Miller. Still, he’s expected to go rounds with the explosive Miller, who has only gone past the fourth round three times in his career. Miller is hoping to become just the second fighter to stop Kassi.

“I’m ready to put his lights out like I do everybody else,” Miller said in a press release. “I know he’s durable and a little older than me. He’s a tough guy and he can take a beating. So far, he’s only been stopped once. I’ll be the second.”

Miller remarked that he doesn’t want to be known as a one-trick pony, offering just punching power. He referenced Breazeale’s punishing loss to IBF heavyweight titleholder Anthony Joshua last Saturday as an example of the type of fighter he doesn’t want to be.

“I’m an advanced fighter, but there are a couple of things I’ve wanted to work on,” he said. “It’s easy for heavyweights to rely on power and forget about technique. You see what happened to Dominic Breazeale against Anthony Joshua? His power didn’t mean jack because there was no technique behind it. I want to be the kind of fighter who puts his technique first and power last.”

Kassi didn’t offer much in the way of respect to Miller. He expressed bitterness he wasn’t able to challenge Joshua last week and said he’s been the victim of unfair circumstances in some of his fights.

“I approach Jarrell like all young fighters,” Kassi said. “He’s got size and power, but it’s nothing I haven’t seen. I’m tired of getting robbed by judges like in El Paso (against Arreola), and in Alabama (against Breazeale). That should have been me fighting Anthony Joshua in The O2. Against Fury, the cut saved him. Another round or two and he would have been done. Then we heard what we always hear, ‘Oh, Fury had a bad night, so did Breazeale, so did Arreola.’ They all seem to have bad nights when I’m in the other corner. I’m hoping to actually get some credit when Miller has a ‘bad’ night too.”

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