Anthony Joshua to train 30 miles from Jarrell Miller as Eddie Hearn claims: 'So much will be different' in US

EXCLUSIVE
Keep your enemies closer: Anthony Joshua will be based just 30 miles from Jarrell Miller in the build-up to their fight
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John Dillon4 April 2019

Anthony Joshua is to set up camp in Miami five weeks before his world heavyweight title defence against Jarrell Miller and will be based just 30 miles from the American’s training base.

Promoter Eddie Hearn believes Joshua is planning a quick knockout in his first fight in America and will leave nothing to chance by ensuring he has extensive warm-weather preparations.

The pair meet at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 1 and Miller is training in Fort Lauderdale, just to the north of Miami.

Joshua, the WBA, IBF and WBO champion, is seeking to make a big impact on his US debut.

He has prepared for his major British fights at the low-key Institute of Sport in Sheffield, where he was also based as an amateur.

In Pictures | Anthony Joshua vs Alexander Povetkin | 22/09/2018

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But Hearn and manager Rob McCracken want to make sure he is perfectly acclimatised for the differing boxing and publicity set-up in the US ahead of the clash with unbeaten Miller.

Hearn said: “So much will be different and new for AJ. It's not just about the five-hour time difference.

“It's about the rules, the gloves, the way the commission works in New York and the way they want hands wrapped over there.

"It's about the changing rooms at the venue, the ring walk and how all the publicity and press conferences will work in a fight week which will be huge and very noisy.

“So the aim is to get well settled in with plenty of time in advance and to have a great camp before going to New York for the build-up and the fight.

“We can’t just turn up at Madison Square Garden and walk out like we would at Wembley.

“Miller will be based in Florida too, which could be interesting. He’s had a lot to say already and will surely cause a lot of commotion as the fight gets nearer.

“AJ wants to knock him out quickly. Miller gets hit a lot early on and Anthony wants to take advantage of that. That would make a big impression on his first fight in America.

"But he’s also feeling some bad intentions towards Miller because of the way he has behaved.”

The brash 23-stone Miller, 30, shoved Joshua on stage at a press conference in New York in February and the pair have traded insults – a rare departure for the laid-back 29-year-old from Watford.

Hearn insists that Joshua has stifled the critics who claimed the clash with Miller would be unchallenging - after his major heavyweight rivals Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury abandoned plans for a rematch to take more low-key contests instead.

American WBC champion Wilder is to make a mandatory defence against Dominic Breazeale – who was knocked out by Joshua in 2016 – in Brooklyn on May 18.

Manchester’s Fury will meet little-known German Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas on June 15 in the first instalment of an £80million, five-fight deal with US TV giant ESPN.

Huge sums are being poured into boxing by American subscription and digital broadcasters in a battle to win ratings for new viewing platforms – and Fury is already a major beneficiary.

Wilder has continued his partnership with the broadcaster Showtime.

The bitter irony for many fans is that the TV bonanza has wrecked for now any idea of the three leading heavyweights meeting in any permutation of fights – because each has a separate deal with rival broadcasters.

Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder have avoided a rematch with both fighters signed up to different broadcasters
Getty Images

Hearn added: “Some people mocked the Miller fight. But after everything that was said, it's the biggest heavyweight date of the year so far.

“It's certainly better and bigger than Wilder v Breazeale. And it’s a hell of a lot bigger and better than Fury v Schwarz.

“AJ knocked out Breazeale in his 17th fight. And he had glandular fever on the night. Wilder is meeting him in his 42nd fight. What a difference.

“Anthony played with Breazeale and won every second of every round. He might fiddle Wilder around for a bit but he’ll get knocked out.”

The battle for viewers in the US has also led to DAZN handing a £275m deal to middleweight superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and a £160m package to his rival Gennady Golovkin.

Hearn added: “Boxing is on the up again in America.

“There is huge money pouring from the new viewing set-up in the US.

“It's a cycle. It won’t last. Eventually, the money will plateau out. But for now the sums are enormous – and not just for heavyweights.”

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