DAZN lands Anthony Joshua vs. Jarrell 'Big Baby' Miller

Anthony Joshua will make his American debut by defending his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles against New York's Jarrell Miller at Madison Square Garden on June 1.

A superstar who has routinely sold out stadiums in the United Kingdom - including a British-record of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium in London for his 11th round knockout of Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 - the knock by many boxing pundits on the unified heavyweight champion is that Joshua hadn't fought in the United States and needed to do so in order to become a global star.

Fans for years have clamored for a Joshua-Wilder fight, and a Joshua-Fury fight would be massive in the U.K. If Joshua defeats Miller, he'd keep alive one of those bouts in the near term. The 29-year-old now holds the WBA (Super), IBP, WBO, and IBO titles and is best known for his 11th-round TKO of Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017. He's faced and beaten better competition than Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs), but the event will mark the first time Joshua has competed in the U.S. He holds impressive victories over Gerald Washington and Mariusz Wach. He is 6-feet-4 and in his last bout, a one-sided fourth-round knockout of Bogdan Dinu on November 17 in Mulvane, Kansas, Miller weighed 315.25 pounds.

But Hearn had issues closing a deal with Whyte, and DAZN was also hoping that Joshua would fight in the U.S.so it could stream his fight on a Saturday night rather than a late Saturday afternoon as it did when it kicked off its service in the US for the Povetkin fight.

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'The public demand was for the Wilder or Fury fight, but with those set for a rematch ordered by the WBC we were left with the options of Dillian Whyte or Big Baby Miller. It's dog-eat-dog in the ring and this dog has got a bigger bite. "That punk AJ is standing in the way of my dreams and on June 1 he's getting run the hell over".

"On June 1 Brooklyn's Jarrell Miller will fight in the World's greatest city for boxing's greatest title - the Heavyweight Championship of the World - on boxing's biggest stage - "The Mecca of Boxing" Madison Square Garden", said Dmitriy Salita of Salita Promotions.

"Jarrell Miller is someone I know well having been involved in his last 4 fights in America". He'll be leaving NY empty-handed. Their sequel, which is close to being finalized, is likely to take place on April 27 or May 18.