Heavyweight Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller got an important win in the WBA world title rankings with a sloppy, but effective 12 round decision over Lenier Pero Saturday night in Las Vegas.
It's wasn't art, but in the end, it was enough for Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller to capture a 12 round decision in Las Vegsas and defeat, unbeaten, Cuban Lenier Pero to claim the WBA's top ranking at heavyweight
The 37 year old Miller, 28-1-2, 22 KOs, capitalized on Saturday’s Matchroom Boxing/DAZN main event at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas earning his most significant win in several years.
The 32 year old Pero, now 13-1, got off to a good start and was the busier/more effective fighter by outlanding Miller 15 to 1 and 18 to 6 in total punches over the first two rounds, according to Compubox.
However, Miller, who outweighed Pero by some 50 lbs., began to score combinations at close range, as the fight wore on. He maintained a steady pace and chipped away in a grinding contest. However, at times, both fighters looked to be in slow motion, trading punches.
Clearly, Pero began to fatigue late in the fight and Miller excelled to the unanimous decision outlanding him in four of the final rounds on the Compubox numbers.
The final judges scores were 117-111 x2 and 115-112 for Miller.
The heralded southpaw Pero and former Cuban Olympian was ranked No. 2 by the WBA entering the fight. Miller was ranked ninth by the organization but now, is in position for the possible world title shot with the WBA's champ Oleksandr Usyk.
Miller most recently competed on the Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson undercard on Jan. 31 in New York. The outspoken heavyweight—who had previously failed two drug tests—struggled more than expected, grinding out a hard-fought 10-round split decision victory over Kingsley Ibeh.
"I'm trying to fight again in June, maybe on the "Boots" Ennis undercard (June 2th in NYC)," Miller said post fight to DAZN. "Pero, where you at? Tell your brother (Dainier Pero) he can get his ass whipped next! If anything, I'll fight him on the Boots undercard,"
Miller also mentioned Usyk in the ring, but he's fighting kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in an optional title defense in Egypt in Late May.
Miller previously fought a spirited draw against the former unified heavyweight champ Andy Ruiz on the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov undercard in Los Angeles in August of 2024. However, Ruiz hasn't fought since then, and there doesn't seem to be much momentum for that rematch to occur.
He also was beaten by Englishman Daniel Dubois by TKO in 2023 for the only loss of his career. Dubois will fight WBO champ Fabio Wardley early next month,
For now, Miller, who is a great talker, has gained some leverage with the WBA, but it's unclear if it will mount to much.