Another high-profile heavyweight fight is confirmed for what has become the deepest card of the year.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that Daniel Dubois and Jarrell Miller will meet in a pivotal heavyweight bout. Their bout will take place on the undercard of the December 23 super show featuring Anthony Joshua-Otto Wallin and Deontay Wilder-Joseph Parker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Dan Rafael was the first to report the matchup along with other key details of the undercard through his Fight Freaks Unite substack.
London’s Dubois (19-2, 18KOs) will enjoy his quickest ring turnaround in more than two years, ironically as he comes off a knockout loss. The former WBA ‘Regular’ heavyweight beltholder was dropped twice and counted out in the ninth round of his August 26 title consolidation bout versus unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titlist Oleksandr Usyk in Wroclaw, Poland.
The loss snapped a four fight win streak, all by knockout and none of which lasted longer than four rounds. He previously suffered a tenth round knockout to Joe Joyce in their November 2020 battle of unbeaten heavyweights.
Brooklyn’s Miller (26-0-1, 22KOs) will enjoy a long-sought step up in class in by far the most significant fight to which his name has been attached since his latest comeback.
The unbeaten heavyweight infamously lost out on two televised dates due to drug testing scandals. Most notable was the lost opportunity to challenge a then-unbeaten Joshua for the unified heavyweight crown atop a June 2019 DAZN show from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Because he was unlicensed at the time of the violation, Miller was never suspended by any commission but still did not fight since November 2018.
He was due to face Jerry Foster atop a July 2020 ESPN show. However, he once again tested positive for a banned substance, this time under the auspices of the Nevada State Athletic Commission who issued a backdated 18-month suspension.
Miller ended a 31-month ring absence last June and picked up two wins within a 30-day span. The 35-year-old heavyweight then returned in a sixth-round knockout of Lucas Browne on March 18 in Dubai. He was linked to a WBA ‘Regular’ title fight versus Mahmoud Charr, but those plans were parked when presented with a far more lucrative opportunity to face Dubois during Riyadh Season.
Dubois-Miller is part of what Boxing Scene has learned is a lineup that runs at least nine fights deep.
As previously reported by Boxing Scene, lineal and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia will face an opponent to be determined in his second title defense. WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol and heavyweights Filip Hrgovic, Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Martin Bakole are all tabbed to appear on the undercard, though none of the aforementioned heavyweights versus each other. Bivol is believed to face Richard 'Popeye' Rivera—also as first reported by Fight Freaks Unite—though Boxing Scene was unable to confirm the fight was done, as this goes to publication.
The full show is expected to be announced during a press conference to be held Wednesday evening local time in London.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox