NEW YORK — Sometimes you have to force the issue.
Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller tried to do that Tuesday during the press conference to announce the launch of DAZN's streaming service in the U.S. He disrupted the party to confront Anthony Joshua and bait the heavyweight world champ into a fight, using a slew of profanity.
The trash talk prompted Joshua to leave photo ops with Alexander Povetkin — his opponent on Sept. 22 in London — and address Miller. Joshua calmly told Miller from the stage, "Shut the f— up, you little bitch" while the two were kept apart.
Big Baby Miller goes after Anthony Joshua at @DAZN_USA event. pic.twitter.com/0b8Byft1Sf
— Sporting News Boxing (@sn_boxingring) July 17, 2018
MORE: Join DAZN and watch the Joshua-Povetkin fight for free
If the undefeated Miller wasn’t on the champ's radar before, he is now, albeit just a blip. Regardless, Miller accomplished his mission of getting in front of Joshua and telling him face to face that he's worthy of a title shot. Both boxers are promoted by Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn.
Miller kept verbally bashing Joshua after confronting him.
“He's a punk. He's a punk. He's a punk,” Miller told Sporting News moments after making his presence felt. "He doesn't want to say my name. He's a p—y. He's not a world champion. He just has a belt. He don't want to fight in America. He wants to stay in England, drink his protein shakes and be happy. He doesn’t want to come to the States. He don’t want to fight anybody who got heart."
"I wanted to see him up close to see how he looked," Miller said. "He's a freaking toothpick on legs. There’s a difference between big and girth. I’m a girthy, big motherf— when I come forward. He has problems with guys smaller than me. He’s been hurt by smaller guys, he’s been hurt by bigger guys, dropped in sparring, dropped as a pro, dropped all the time."
When asked by SN what he told Joshua directly to his face, Miller replied that he said "his mom looks good in a Sunday dress."
"She does look good, though. I've seen her," Miller added.
Later, Miller talked about Joshua's mother in a cruder way.
"Listen, AJ, you sweet and low, cotton candy, you Apple Jacks, apple juice, pansy, thong-wearing sucker, you're lucky Eddie Hearn was between me, or I'd have busted your ass. But I got a date with your mom anyway," Miller said into the camera.
The date comment got back to the champ in a separate interview with SN. Joshua was not pleased.
"He needs to watch his mouth," Joshua said, adding, "Miller is not cut from the same cloth as me, so he should watch how he talks."
Miller (21-0-1, 18 KOs) believes he has done enough to warrant the next matchup with Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs) and thinks the champ dodged him by taking on Povetkin next while still trying to line up a highly anticipated bout with Deontay Wilder.
"It was supposed to be me be next and then they put Deontay in front of everybody,” Miller said. "Eddie Hearn is a good manipulator; he's a great magician. All of a sudden, they're going to fight the shortest guy that has a loss, that has been hurt in multiple fights before. [Povetkin] got hurt against David Price the last fight."
Miller vows that he and Joshua are "going to have to fight sooner or later," but until then, he plans on keeping busy, setting his sights on WBA heavyweight Manuel Charr next.
That’s a good thing, considering Joshua has back-to-back fights set for Wembley Stadium: vs. Povetkin in the fall and, if negotiations pan out, vs. Wilder on April 13 in the fight that everyone wants to see.
