Jarrell Miller Handed Lenier Pero First Loss in WBA Heavyweight Title Eliminator

Jarrell Miller defeated the previously unbeaten Lenier Pero in a WBA Heavyweight Title Eliminator, winning by unanimous decision with scores of 117-111, 117-111, and 115-113.

This victory brings Miller closer to a title shot against unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Pero started the match strongly from his southpaw stance, using a straight left to keep Miller at a distance. However, by the fourth round, Miller began to close the gap. Weighing in at 305 pounds—54 pounds heavier than Pero—Miller applied pressure, throwing body shots and uppercuts inside. He maintained a high output, throwing over 1,000 punches throughout the match. By the 11th round, Pero showed signs of fatigue, allowing Miller to secure a decisive win. In his post-fight comments, Eddie Hearn indicated that Deontay Wilder could be a next target for Miller.

Post-Fight

“For me, the American fight is Deontay Wilder against Jarrell Miller. Run it in New York. That’s a serious fight. Deontay’s come back with a good win against Chisora, I think that’s a big fight for American boxing,” Hearn said.

Pero remarked, “I knew Pero was going to be tough, and I had a feeling he was going to move a lot more than that, to tell the truth. I wasn’t looking for the knockout. I just wanted to see what my conditioning was and get back to a lot of punches. And my team just said, ‘if the knockout is going to come, it’s going to come. And I felt really comfortable, and I really wanted the rounds. A couple of times I know I had him hurt but I’m like, ‘you know what? Work, baby, just work. Don’t look for it too much.’ And he caught me with a couple of shots. But it was good, though, getting the rust off.”

Full Card

Jarrell Miller def Lenier Pero by unanimous decision (117-111, 117-111, 115-113)

Alan Chaves def. Miguel Madueno in third-round KO

Damian Sosa def. Freudis Rojas via a unanimous decision (96-93 x 3)

Nishant Dev def. Juan Carlos Guerra with a second-round TKO