Who is Jarrell Miller? 'Big Baby' earmarked as Anthony Joshua's likely first US opponent

With his reputation as Britain's most popular and high-profile active boxer having long since been assured, an eventual move into the lucrative American market has always been seen as the logical next step for Anthony Joshua, with Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn revealing this week that the 2012 Olympic gold medalist will fight stateside this year after his latest heavyweight unification clash with Joseph Parker at Cardiff's Principality Stadium in March.

While an eagerly-anticipated showdown with reigning WBC champion Deontay Wilder is obviously the major goal for Joshua across the Atlantic, his promoter's mocking insistence that the 'Bronze Bomber' - who faces arguably his toughest defence to date against Luis Ortiz on 3 March - continues to live "at a street address on Fantasy Island" with his demands for a straight 50/50 purse split, means such an introduction to the US scene is likely to be more low key.

Hearn claimed to already be in talks with Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment CEO Brett Yormark about staging Joshua's first post-Parker bout at Barclays Center in August and namechecked Jarrell Miller as the chief alternative to Wilder, provided he can make a statement in his forthcoming WBA title eliminator against former WBC challenger Johann Duhaupas of France.

That contest will serve as the co-main event alongside former WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs' meeting with Maciej Sulecki on 28 April, a Matchroom-promoted HBO card that also features a female lightweight unification bout between Ireland's Katie Taylor and Victoria Bustos.

Not a name that will be all too familiar to more casual boxing fans on this side of the pond, just who is Jarrell Miller and could he present a potential barrier to Joshua's quest for complete heavyweight domination and true global superstardom?

What is his background?

A fast-talking, charismatic Brooklyn native with a big personality and a penchant for cheeseburgers, Miller, 29, took up Muay Thai as a 14-year-old after someone had stolen his bike and later became a professional kickboxer, amassing a 21-2 record (nine knockouts) and memorably twice battling the legendary Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic at the K-1 World Grand Prix Final and Glory 17 promotion without success.

Who has he fought?

6ft 4in Miller made his professional boxing debut in July 2009, when he stopped veteran compatriot Darius Whitson in the first round of a scheduled four-rounder at Plattduetsche Park Restaurant in New York before waiting 22 months for another fight.

He really began to get noticed as an up-and-coming heavyweight with successive televised knockouts of Akhror Muralimov, Donovan Dennis and Nick Guivas between October 2015-May 2016 and by claiming the WBA-NABA championship.

Miller forced the durable Fred Kassi to retire hurt in the third round of the headline fight of Showtime's "ShoBox: The New Generation" series later that summer and continued to call out the division's premier talents before further establishing his reputation 11 months later by stopping Gerald Washington in the eighth round on the undercard of Mikey Garcia's win over Adrien Broner.

He last fought in November as another support act for Jacobs, underwhelming slightly in a nine-round win over 37-year-old Mariusz Wach. After meeting Duhaupas, Miller will have locked horns with (defeated) world title challengers on three consecutive occasions.

What is his record?

His current boxing record before Duhaupas stands at 20 wins and no defeats from 21 contests with 18 KOs. The only minor blemish being a four-round draw against Joey Dawejko in his fifth outing in Uncasville, Connecticut in January 2013.

Where does his nickname come from?

Speaking to The Palm Beacher magazine last year, Miller explained that his first manager and former New York State Athletic Commissioner Ron Scott Stevens gave him his "Big Baby" nickname after winning a bet.

"He thought it would be marketable and make me more likable," he said. "In my professional debut, I knocked out Darius Whitson, and all the girls sitting ringside were chanting 'Big Baby, Big Baby,' so that was proof enough for me."

What has he said about Joshua?

Miller has unsurprisingly been less than complimentary about "overrated and overhyped" AJ in his quest to secure a fight, warning that "muscles don't save your chin" and stating that he gets away with a lot of "BS" in the UK as well as being mentally weak.

"I think lighter would benefit him," the naturally shorter but heavier American said of Joshua's plans to cut down in weight before facing Parker. "He's naturally a small guy, he has a smaller frame so him putting on all that muscle, drinking a lot of protein... it definitely made him look like crap against [Carlos] Takam, a smaller guy that doesn't have a lot of pop and a stoppage which I don't think he deserved at that exact moment.

"I guess smaller would do him better, but at the end of the day I know what I'm going to do to him."