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Forget about Imane Khelif and focus your energy on Jarrell Miller instead

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Coming off a week in which the Algerian boxer was publicly criticized for her naturally elevated testosterone levels, boxing on Saturday night (August 3) will once again spoil weightlifter Jarrell Miller, a man whose persistent and long-standing quest to “get high” was anything but natural.

Unfortunately, unlike Imane Khelif, Miller’s past isn’t compelling or relevant enough for anyone to take it seriously or give it any real thought, so he can once again be seen as just another “boxer.”

The truth is that Miller has boxed four times in a while, since serving a two-year suspension for a couple of doping violations (GW501516, EPO and HGH), and each of those four fights has gradually gained in importance and prize money. For example, his last fight was a relatively substantial fight with Andy Ruiz in Los Angeles on a card sponsored by Riyadh Season; meaning Miller will be paid handsomely just for showing up. Even his last fight, a 10th-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois, was a lucrative outing for Miller, as it again took place on an event sponsored by Middle Eastern men.

This, as a career path, contradicts the idea that cheaters never prosper, and Miller, if anything, is now proof that the opposite is true in boxing. In fact, by continuing to compete, Miller is perhaps showing that there is nothing catchier than fame, and that even black marks can be erased or, better yet, used as a selling point.

That was evident earlier this week when Miller was photographed having a touching moment with promoter Eddie Hearn, someone who famously — and quite rightly — criticized Miller for failing a drug test ahead of his 2019 fight with Anthony Joshua. Unhappy with that, Hearn, when asked, even made it official that he would never work with Miller again out of principle.

But now, although not directly related to the Americans, it seems that time has healed all wounds and there is no greater weapon than money from the Middle East. If you have any doubts, look at how many supposedly toxic relationships in boxing have been repaired recently; look at how many cheeks have been turned; look at how many hands have been held. Not only is he a man of unlimited wealth, Turki Alalshikh, he of the magic touch, is apparently also the world’s leading relationship consultant, mending, for better or for worse, every bridge we are told has been burned or broken in our sport.

In the case of Miller and Hearn, the unlikely union is less problematic than disappointing. Of course, we can understand why it happened and why Miller was forgiven by so many, but that doesn’t make it right, nor does it make it any easier to watch Miller perform in the ring and pretend everything is fine.

Because he really isn’t. It’s challenging to look at him objectively—that is, through a lens that isn’t blurred—and it’s challenging, moreover, to endure the silence of others when watching him perform on fight night. Promoters, commentators, pundits, journalists, all are equally culpable, and yet, ultimately, what is the alternative to this collective indifference? With boxing allowed, it’s surely right that we treat Miller the same as anyone else; the same as any other boxer allowed to box in 2024. Grid history or not, nothing good comes from dredging up the past, they say, no matter how relevant and critical dredging up the past may be to what’s happening now, today.

Certainly, in Jarrell Miller’s case, you could argue that his PED issue is more significant than anything else he brings to the ring in 2024. It’s more significant than titles won, opponents defeated, and any pre-fight sound bites or goals, that’s for sure. It’s also something that should be mentioned in every fight preview, and even in the report, regardless of the outcome, and something that, in a more ideal world than this, should be announced by the ringmaster during the pre-fight introduction.

Unfortunately, this is probably too much to ask.

Still, if the entire boxing world is able to reach for its phones and say what it thinks of Imane Khelif on Thursday afternoon, one can only hope that similar outrage — or even just scrutiny — will provide the soundtrack to this weekend’s Miller-Ruiz fight in Los Angeles. That’s the least a boxer in Miller’s position deserves, given the speed with which he returned to the ring and how welcomed and rewarded he was upon his return. It seems wrong that he’s now flourishing — even if only financially — without any reaction or even just a reminder at every turn of what he did.

Rather than cruel, such reminders can be seen as crucial, cautionary, if only to keep awareness alive and provide some sort of deterrent should they have Miller’s thoughts during training camp. After all, in a world where perception is everything, if we can’t rely on the authorities to appropriately punish doping cheaters in this most perilous of sports, we can at least invest in and appreciate the damage to reputation.

“It’s compelling,” Miller’s promoter Dmitry Salita told me last year, “because Jarrell is very attractive and fans will watch him fight. But he’s still paying the price for what he did, and it seems like some people who might give him a chance aren’t willing to do so.

“But my opinion is this: If you commit a crime, you do time. He did time and it was a substantial part of his career. It’s been over four years since it happened (the failed test), so that’s a long time. He wants to make amends to his family and he wants to apply his talent. I think if someone fails a test, they should be suspended. But when they get out, they need to be able to take advantage of every opportunity they can. If Anthony Joshua’s team says, ‘Oh no, he’s a former drug cheat, we’re not going to fight him,’ then it doesn’t make sense now.”

As challenging as it is to hear and stomach, Salita is absolutely right. If boxing as a sport is going to hand out short-lived bans for failed drug tests, however severe or tolerant, we need to learn to accept the tarnished boxers back into the team later on once those bans are served. Whether we can forgive them or support them at that point is another matter, but certainly, if you are allowed to fight, you also need to fight. Then the boxer must secure redemption and forgiveness, perhaps even from those closest to him.

“Based on what he told me and what I saw, he feels great remorse for what happened,” Salita said. “We all make mistakes, and hopefully we learn from them and it never happens again. That’s our common goal.”

On Saturday, Miller and Khelif will return to the ring. Miller, as mentioned, will fight Andy Ruiz, the heavyweight who took advantage of Miller’s dishonesty to stun Anthony Joshua in 2019, while Khelif will fight Hungarian Anna Luca Hamori in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games. Both of these fights will feature hints of controversy and celebrity, but only one of the two incidents will go viral and draw the attention and unwanted opinions of politicians, celebrities, and influencers.

Why that is is anyone’s guess. But the popularity and prestige of the Olympics certainly have a lot to do with it, as does the format of the amateur fight; brief, straightforward to watch, digest, and then cut to size for social media. The image of Khelif towering over her opponent and delivering blows with her muscular arms is catnip for those bracing for a gender debate, and pairing that image with the image of Italian Angela Carini hunched over, surrendering, and crying after taking two of those blows created the perfect storm on Thursday (Aug. 1). Now, whether rightly or wrongly, Khelif, the “monster” who has been defeated by other women in the past, will be followed by controversy and hatred wherever she goes.

Miller, by contrast, has survived his scrutiny. Perhaps because a doping cheater in professional boxing is no different from his opponent—a telling statement in itself—Miller is, in the eyes of the uneducated masses, just another heavyweight boxer with a powerful punch and a substantial belly. He is not someone whose image is prominently displayed on an endless social media feed, nor are there any clips of him “lifted up” and beating an opponent so challenging that he turns away and refuses to continue. Instead, Miller is able, in a sport of smoke and mirrors, to hide in plain sight, his mistakes considered commonplace, forgivable, our little secret.

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Boxing

Tyson’s conqueror, Danny Williams, was “never considered” for Morrison

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Kenzie Morrison Danny Williams

World Boxing News has learned that Danny Williams was never considered for a fight against Tommy Morrison’s son Kenzie on November 9.

WBN has learned from a source that Williams was scheduled to face Morrison next month when he returns to action at Firelake Arena in Shawnee. However, promoter Tony Holden confirmed what WBN initially reported, namely that Williams had been offered for the fight.

BoxRec also briefly placed Williams within Morrison’s record on November 9, before removing the former British champion. Williams famously knocked out Mike Tyson in 2004, but has since lived off his victory despite losing his British license more than a decade ago.

Holden, who represents Morrison and is looking for an opponent for the competition in three weeks, explained the situation exclusively to WBN.

“I never confirmed William’s story and I never considered him,” Holden said. “I said no when a local promoter suggested it.”

Williams, 51, last fought in August 202, losing for the 33rd time in his career. With 88 professional fights under his belt, Williams seems unable to turn down a payday despite his advanced age.

Morrison, a power puncher who has stopped 19 of his 21 wins, will look for his next conquest elsewhere. The fight with Mike Balogun remains on the table for 2025 after it was postponed from its original October date.

Balogun, who knocked out Kenzi’s brother Trey in the first round, claimed Morrison was pulled from the fight to spare him the loss.

Holden denies this view.

“Even though this post isn’t up to my standards, I’m going to write it anyway. Mike Balogun falsely claimed that I pulled Kenzie Morrison out of the fight because I was afraid he would lose. Please allow me to correct you, Mr. Balogun,” he stated.

“The decision was not made by Kenzie. Let’s raise the stakes and make it fascinating. If you emerge victorious this month, Kenzie will fight in November.

“We may decide this early next year. If your confidence remains unshaken, we can place a significant bet. Watch Kenzie take revenge on her brother and end your career.

Balogun, a former San Francisco 49ers linebacker, responded to Holden by increasing his salary for a potential collision next year.

“No matter how fair and honorable your decision was, just remember that ‘yesterday’s price is not today’s price,’” said the 2010 undrafted pick.

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Andrew Moloney is confident that if given the chance, he would have beaten Phumelele Cafu and Kosei Tanaka

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Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.

The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.

Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.

“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.

“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.

“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.

I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.

Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.

This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.

Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.

It was a breakthrough moment in his career.

“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.

“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.

“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.

“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”

It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.

“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.

“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.

“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”

Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.

“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.

“We have also rejected for some time the idea of ​​moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”

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Doubts that fuel 19-year-old Benjamin Johnson

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Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.

Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.

Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.

Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.

“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”

He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.

Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.

“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.

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