Jarrell Miller brutalizes Johan Duhaupas in route to a unanimous decision victory

Jarrell Miller came into his bout with Johann Duhaupas at a career-high 304 pounds. He put all of that weight behind his punches but couldn’t stop Duhaupas.

Jarrell Miller had a possible title shot on the line against veteran Johann Duhaupas. Duhaupas was a considerable underdog, but he has pulled upsets in the past. He beat Manuel Charr in 2015 and knocked out then-undefeated Robert Helenius. Unfortunately for Duhaupas, he was unable to conjure up a Rocky moment against Miller.

Duhaupas came out confidently at the start of round one. He used his jab well, but Miller used his mass to walk Duhaupas down. Miller landed several powerful rights that hurt Duhaupas with 37 seconds remaining in the round. Duhaupas’s confidence quickly vanished.

Miller and Duhaupas traded jabs early in round two, but Miller quickly closed the distance and treated Duhaupas like a human punching bag. Duhaupas was in trouble, but one of Miller’s punches landed low and gave Duhaupas some time to recover.

Duhaupas landed some shots of his own, but they didn’t hurt Miller. By the end of the round, Duhaupas’s mouth was bloody. He ate monster shots but proved to have a resilient chin.

Duhaupas let his hands go more in round three. He mixed in jabs with some decent body punches. Miller threw punches back, but he didn’t put all his power behind them. He may have taken the round off after an active round two. It was a very good round for Duhaupas who looked well conditioned. Duhaupas won this round by outworking Miller. It was a surprising round considering the beating Duhaupas took in the first two rounds.

In round four, Miller landed his jab well and he showed some nice head movement to avoid Duhaupas’s attack. Miller pressed his attack and hit Duhaupas with numerous right uppercuts while in close. Duhaupas fought back admirably, but he was outgunned by Miller.

Miller and Duhaupas fought at close quarters for the first minute of the fifth, but Miller landed a devastating flurry. Duhaupas’s granite chin took all the punishment and he tried to mount a counter-attack. Duhaupas’s face started to break up. Both of his eyes swelled and looked blackened.

At the midway point, Miller’s activity level dropped and Duhaupas landed some slapping shots. He kept his hands moving, but he couldn’t hurt Miller who kept plodding forward. It was a close round, but I felt Duhaupas did enough to win it by outworking Miller for the second time of the fight. Miller only threw 39 punches.

Miller opened the seventh with a vicious assault of hooks. Duhaupas took them well, but Miller looked like a tank. Later in the round, he dropped his hands and taunted Duhaupas screaming, “Come on!” It was a show of bravado to prove to Duhaupas that his punches couldn’t hurt him.

Miller’s hands were low in the eighth. It was the first major sign of fatigue. His activity level dipped, and it looked like his strategy would be to take a round off then attack the next. Luckily for him, Duhaupas didn’t throw much back. His arsenal was limited to jabs. Duhaupas landed a left hook at the end of the round which was the best punch of the round. It was a close round that was difficult to score.

Miller came out of his corner in the ninth aggressively, but again, Duhaupas took his punches well. Miller’s power shots looked to have lost a bit of steam, but they still hurt because of the 300 pounds behind them. Duhaupas’s body language was concerning at the end of the round. His mouth was open and he looked tired.

Both men kept grinding in the 10th. They fought in close and traded punches with Miller getting the best of the action. Miller started to crank out roundhouse hooks to Duhaupas’s body. Miller was very busy and very accurate.

On his stool before the 11th, Miller showed some damage. His mouth and nose were bloody, but that’s to be expected when a 240-pound heavyweight punches you repeatedly in the head.

In the 11th, Miller torqued some brutal rights to Duhaupas’s head, but Duhaupas continued to take his shots well. With 1:18 remaining, Miller landed another scary flurry, but Duhaupas took every shot and continued to fight back. Deontay Wilder stopped Duhaupas in the 11th in their 2015 matchup. Miller looked like he wanted to equal Wilder’s previous performance but he couldn’t.

Duhaupas looked distressed in his corner before the 12th. He was checked out by the doctor but elected to continue fighting.

Duhaupas circled Miller on the outside in the 12th. They again found themselves fighting in a phone booth. Both men fought hard, but Miller’s punches did the worse damage. Duhaupas finished the fight on his feet and should be commended for his chin and heart.

It was no surprise when it was announced that Miller won by unanimous decision. He dominated Duhaupas and demonstrated that he could carry his massive weight for 12 rounds while remaining active.

Duhaupas gave it his all, but he couldn’t hurt Miller. Jarrell Miller is in a good position to land a title bout against Anthony Joshua. Wilder’s team canceled a meeting with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn and it doesn’t look like a Wilder/Joshua dream match will happen next.

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Miller is also promoted by Eddie Hearn, so there would be no difficulty in making a fight between him and Joshua. Miller looked good against Duhaupas. A bout between Miller and Joshua would be entertaining, but Joshua is a massive step up from Duhaupas. Regardless of what happens next, Miller acquitted himself well against Duhaupas.