Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller vs. Bogdan Dinu – Weigh-in results

Boxingnews24.com

By Jim Dower: Unbeaten heavyweight contender Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller (22-0-1, 19 KOs) weighed in at 315.4 pounds for his fight against little known Bogdan Dinu (18-0, 14 KOs) this Saturday night on DAZN at the Kansas Star Arena and Casino in Mulvane, Kansas. Miller’s opponent 32-year-old Dinu came in at a much more reasonable 237 1/2 lbs.

Despite being huge at 315, Miller has a good engine, and he doesn’t have a history of gassing out. It’s hard to believe that a fight weighing well over 300 lbs can have great stamina, but Miller is suited for the weight. He’s got the conditioning of a welterweight. He never gets tired, and is capable of throwing nonstop punches to wear his opponents down. In Miller’s last fight against Tomasz Adamek, he weighed in at a career high of 317 lbs in destroying the former 2-division world champion. Before that fight, Miller had complained of being weak after he melted down to 283 lbs for the Mariusz Wach fight last November. Miller’s punches lacked the power that they previously had and were bouncing off of the chin of Wach without hurting him. After that fight Miller decided he wasn’t going to ever let that happen to him.

Miller’s promoter Eddie Hearn is upset that the vacant WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title won’t be on the line for the fight. Hearn says that even if the WBA title isn’t on the line, Miller will eventually win the title, as he sees him as destined to be the World Boxing Association heavyweight champion. It’s understandable why the WBA wasn’t willing to put their title on the line for the Miller-Dinu fight. Dinu is rated #9 in the WBA’s top 15 rankings, and that’s on the low side for someone fighting for a vacant title. You’d like to see a contender rated in the top 5 for him to be fighting for a world title.

Hearn obviously wanted Miller to have the WBA title in his possession so that when he matches him up against IBF/WBA/WBO champion Anthony Joshua next year, he’ll looks more credible in the eyes of the casual boxing fans, many of which will be furious by 2019. The fans want to see Joshua fight WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, but Hearn doesn’t fancy making that fight. It’s too costly and there’s too much risk for Joshua.

Dinu, 6’5″, has the size and enough pop in his punches to hurt Miller, but he lacks the experience for him to be seen as a real threat. With Mller, you can’t know what kind of performance he’ll turn in because he can look so awful at times. If Dinu brings his A-game on Saturday, he could beat Miller. That’s how vulnerable the 6’4″ Miller is. He’s not a lock to beat even little fringe contenders.

Miller needs not only a win over Dinu, he needs an impressive win so that it can help create interest for a fight against Joshua next year.

Other weights on the card:

Ramon Alvarez 151.4 vs. Brandon Rios 151.4

Gabriel Rosado 158.2 vs. Luis Arias 159.4