Jarrell Miller wins comeback fight in Argentina by decision

Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller got into the ring for the first time since 2018 last night in Buenos Aires, Argentina, winning a decision over local journeyman Ariel Esteban Bracamonte over 10 rounds.

Miller took the fight on scores of 97-92 across the board, losing a point in the fourth round for a low blow. Bracamonte (11-8, 6 KO) possibly could have been given another round or so, as he out-worked a clearly rusty — and way too heavy — Miller in the first few frames, but once Miller (24-0-1, 20 KO) settled in a bit he was clearly the better fighter, and did deserve the victory.

It was a spirited fight if not exactly pretty. Miller weighed in at 341¾ lbs on Wednesday, and if you remember him always being a big, heavy dude, yeah, he was and always will be. But his previous career-high weight was 317 against Tomasz Adamek in 2018, and as heavy as he was in Argentina, he has no shot at being a really viable threat at heavyweight even if he can stay active. His gas tank was pushed by a determined Bracamonte, who wasn’t exactly Mr. Trim at a career-high 305½ lbs, either.

“Big Baby” is 33 now, has a lot of baggage that will understandably make major promoters hugely reluctant to book him for opportunities, and there’s a really good chance that whatever window he was thought to have before, it may well be closed now. But he is a big, charismatic, American heavyweight, and that counts for a good bit.

Also on the card, 6’9” Kazakh heavyweight Ivan Dychko improved to 12-0 (11 KO), going the distance for the first time as a pro in a win over Kevin Nicolas Espindola (7-4, 2 KO). This is the sort of fight Dychko should be way past in his career; he’s 31 and a two-time Olympic bronze medalist. Scores for Dychko’s win were 99-91, 99-91, and 100-90.