Jarrell Miller analyzes Wilder-Ortiz & Joshua-Parker

Boxingnews24.com

By Jeff Aranow: Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller says he sees the heavyweight clashes between Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz and Anthony Joshua vs. Anthony Parker being fights where anyone could win. Miller likes the punching power of WBC champion Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs), but he thinks he’ll get clipped by the 38-year-old Ortiz (28-0, 24 KOs) Ortiz is if comes out throwing his wild windmill punches in the early going of their fight on March 3 on Showtime Boxing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Miller the 6’4” southpaw Ortiz will catch Deontay with one of his counters if he tries throwing his wild shots at him. Miller can’t pick between Wilder and Ortiz. Miller isn’t sure about Ortiz’s age though. Like a lot of boxing fans, Miller suspects that Ortiz might be older than his listed age of 38. Some fans think Ortiz is at least 10 years older than his listed age. They see him around 48, possibly over 50. If that’s Ortiz’s age, it’s going to be hard for him to beat a younger fighter with the speed and power of Wilder. Ortiz will have to win the fight based on his experience and ring IQ.

“It’s still 50-50 in my book,” Miller said to IFL TV about the Wilder vs. Ortiz fight. “If Wilder comes out with that wild stuff, Ortiz is definitely still sharp enough to catch him with one of his shots. But Ortiz is definitely a little older than what we know already. So it can go either way. But Deontay has a power punch,”Miller said.

If Wilder comes out with the confidence that he had in his last fight against Bermane Stiverne, then he’s going to test Ortiz’s chin right away. Wilder might end the fight within the first round or 2 if he’s able to connect with his big power shots. It doesn’t matter how much skills and experience Ortiz possesses. If Wilder lands his shots, he’s going to going to get knocked out.

Miller likes WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker’s mobility, hand speed and chin going up against IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs). Miller thinks Joshua has become muscle-bound in bulking up from 225 pounds to 254 since turning pro in 2013. Joshua has packed on 30 pounds of bodybuilder muscle in just 5 years, and it hasn’t helped him. Joshua looks slower than he was when he first turned pro.

”That’s more of a closer fight,” Miller said of the Joshua vs. Parker fight. ”Parker has faster hands and way better footwork, and he’s not as chinny as we’ve seen from AJ. AJ thinks muscles win fights, and it’s proven to work against him in his last 2 fight. He’s too muscle-bound from being 225 to 230 up to 254. I’m leaning towards Joshua because AJ is in his backyard. He gets away with a lot of BS over there. But I’m not counting Parker out. I hope he comes out with the win,” Miller said.

The only thing Joshua can get away with fighting at home in the UK is if the referee steps in and stops the contest prematurely like in AJ’s fight against Carlos Takam last October in Cardiff, Wales.
Joshua’s chin is vulnerable, but Parker is going to have to be willing to stand in the pocket and throw power shots for him to have a chance of hurting Joshua. Parker isn’t going to hurt Joshua if he moves the entire fight like he did against Carlos Takam.

Miller (20-0-1, 18 KOs) says he’ll be fighting next on April 28th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. His fight will be televised on HBO Boxing on the undercard of former IBF middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs vs. Maciej Sulecki. Miller, 29, says he’ll either be fighting former heavyweight world title challenger Johann Duhaupas or Trevor Bryan. Miller is waiting to find out which of the two heavyweights he’ll be facing on the card.