Jarrell Miller approved to receive license, planning July 9th Top Rank debut

According to Mike Coppinger, long-suspended heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller “has been approved for a license by Nevada commission” and intends to make both his Top Rank debut and first ring appearance since 2018 in a July 9th main event.

As a reminder, the Ivan Baranchyk-Jose Zepeda card originally reported for July 9th will actually be taking place on the 7th.

Former kickboxer Miller (23-0-1, 20 KO) first started making waves in the heavyweight division around 2015, racking up wins over a bevy of mid-tier guys like Fred Kassi, Gerald Washington, and Mariusz Wach. After smashing an aging Tomasz Adamek, whom “Big Baby” outweighed by 90 pounds, and Bogdan Dinu, he got the call to welcome Anthony Joshua to the United States.

Then he tested positive for so many drugs that we the writers literally struggled to keep up.

The 32-year-old, out of action since the Dinu win in November 2018, ultimately signed with Top Rank in January and recently blamed the test failures on a stem cell shot he received to deal with lingering elbow issues. I must admit to being disappointed that he’s coming back behind closed doors; I’m curious as to how the boo/cheer ratio would be in front of a live audience.