Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Jarrell Miller Preview August 3rd, 2024
Former IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA (Super) Heavyweight Champion Andy Ruiz Jr. of Imperial, California takes on Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller of Brooklyn, New York this Saturday, August 3rd. The 10-round fight from Los Angeles, California can be seen live in most nations on pay-per-view such as DAZN and ESPN as it’s on the undercard of the Terence Crawford vs Israil Madrimov battle. Ruiz last fought in September, 2022 when he beat Luis Ortiz by a close unanimous decision despite dropping him in the second and seventh rounds. Miller’s last foray into the ring saw him stopped by Daniel Dubois in the 10th and final round last December.
Ruiz Jr. vs Miller Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jarrell Miller +275
- Andy Ruiz Jr. -375
My Pick
The 34-year-old Ruiz, who’s also a former NABF Heavyweight belt holder, has a mark of 35-2 with 22 Ko’s. His first loss was a majority decision for the vacant WBO World Heavyweight Championship against Joseph Parker in December, 2016. His second defeat came at the hands of Anthony Joshua via a unanimous decision in their 2019 rematch. Ruiz had stopped Joshua in the seventh round seven months earlier to take the majority of the world heavyweight titles. He was dropped in the third round while Joshua was down twice in the third and twice in the seventh before it was halted.
Ruiz is an intelligent boxer with an effective jab which he uses to set up his power shots. His best weapons are the left hook and overhand right and he’s been able to stop 14 of his past 23 opponents. There’s no doubt he has good power as 63 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage but he’s gone the distance in his last three outings and hasn’t halted anybody since upsetting Joshua in 2019. Ruiz has boxed 187 rounds since turning pro in 2009 following a decent amateur career and has also beaten the likes of Chris Arreola, Alexander Dimitrenko, Kevin Johnson, Siarhei Liakhovich, Joe Hanks, Tor Hamer, Ray Austin, Josh Gormley, Franklin Lawrence and Carl Davis.
The ex-champion stands 6-feet-2-inches tall with a 74-inch reach and won the NABA, and WBO Inter Continental Heavyweight Crowns when he stopped Manuel Quezada in the second round in 2014. The knock against Ruiz is that he doesn’t always come into the ring in the best of shape. He was 268 lbs against Joshua in their first fight, 283.5 lbs in their rematch, down to 256 lbs against Chris Arreola and then back up to 269 lbs against Ortiz in his last fight. However, that’s not too bad perhaps, considering he weighed 297.5 lbs in his pro debut.
The 36-year-old Miller will enter the ring with a record of 26-1-1 with 22 Ko’s. This will be his fifth fight since June, 2022 after being out of the ring for almost four years because of failed drug tests. He was due to meet Anthony Joshua before failing tests in 2019 and failed tests again in 2020 when he was scheduled to meet Jerry Forrest. His first fight back was June, 2022 in Argentina when he beat Ariel Bracamonte via a 10-round unanimous decision after having a point deducted in the fourth round. Since then he’s stopped Derek Cardenas, Lucas Browne in the sixth and beaten by Dubois.
Miller’s a good-sized heavyweight at 6-feet-4-inches tall with a reach of 78 inches, but entered the ring just over 341 lbs against Bracamonte, 328 lbs against Cardenas and 333 lbs against Browne and Dubois. He’s not the typical muscle-bound heavyweight either but like Ruiz, his body shape has worked for him so far so he’s not expected to make any drastic changes in the near future. He’s also a former kickboxer who was a legitimate top-10 contender a few years ago.
Miller has better-than-average power as 84.6 per cent of his victories have been by stoppage he’s halted 13 of his last 16 opponents. He turned pro in 2009 after a brief but successful amateur career and has 119 rounds under his belt since. He hasn’t fought any top-ranked foes other than Dubois as his biggest wins have been against a 41-year-old Tomasz Adamek as well Bogdan Dinu, Johann Duhaupas, Akhror Muralimov, Donovan Dennis, Gerald Washington, Fred Kassi, Mariusz Wach and Browne. The lone draw on his record is a four-round affair with Joey Dawelko in 2013. Along the way he won the vacant WBO NABO Heavyweight Title in 2016.
Prediction…
The main question concerning both Ruiz and Miller are typically about their weight and conditioning but since they’re facing each other here it looks like a level playing field. Ruiz has good boxing skills for a big guy even when he’s out of shape though and as he proved against Joshua and Arreola, he has what it takes to get off the canvas to win. Miller has been stopped before but has a good chin and also has the power to stop Ruiz, who hasn’t done himself any favours by fighting just twice in the past four years. Ruiz has the skills to beat Miller but inactivity is going to make this a very close call. To be honest, I can see this fight going either way but will give Ruiz the slight edge as he’s a better overall boxer.
I’ll go with Ruiz’s boxing ability in a tossup.
Play: Ruiz -375 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Andy Ruiz betting • Jarrell Miller betting