The only thing more pointless than a six-month ban for a serial drug cheat who makes their living punching other human beings in the head is bothering to argue or get upset about it.
Jarrell Miller failed a couple of VADA drug tests for more than one prohibited substance earlier this month yet will face only a backdated six-month suspension, gifted to him by the WBA, and will be allowed to fight again from September 19. This means he has lost the June 1 payday against Anthony Joshua, as well as the chance to become world heavyweight champion, but not a lot else.
In fact, all Miller has to do on his return is undergo some random drug-testing at his own expense and submit those results to the WBA, the sanctioning body responsible for both dropping the American from their rankings and issuing him the most ludicrous slap on the wrists (in terms of the length of his ban) possible. If the results stand up, by the way, there is every chance Miller will then seemingly be reinstated into the rankings.
Bizarrely, or not, Greg Cohen, Miller’s promoter, sees nothing wrong with the punishment delivered to his man.
“I think it’s fair, it’s appropriate,” he said. “We just look forward to moving on to bigger and better things in the future.
“I don’t think he has a choice. Certainly, by way of this resolution, he’s required to, and I’m sure Jarrell will be compliant with the resolution.
“With this suspension, he can’t even apply [for a license] ‘til after the Sept. 19 deadline. So, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Sarah Fina, meanwhile, VP at Greg Cohen Promotions suggests Miller’s newfound bad boy reputation could serve him well in future fights.
“Now that Jarrell Miller will fight again,” she said, “I believe the fans will tune in to see if he will lose without the PEDs. He’s now officially the bad guy. The AB (Adrien Broner) effect. Not the approach I would have chosen but hey…”
It’s official: lunatics are now running the asylum. Accept it, try and laugh at it, but whatever you do, don’t be surprised, much less annoyed, when crazy decisions like this one come to pass and are then explained away. Unfortunately, the nonsense surrounding Jarrell Miller is merely the latest example of boxing failing those for whom they should have a duty of care (the remaining clean athletes in the sport).
If you come to boxing looking for rules, morals or plain old common sense, you have come to the wrong place. We should all know this by now.
Nobody really knows too much about Steve Rolls, the man tasked with upsetting Gennady Golovkin on June 8 in New York, but that doesn’t mean he can’t fight, nor that he doesn’t have the chance of doing the unthinkable.
It’s Rolls’ job to put his name up in lights and make himself known and this is exactly what he’s working towards achieving in June.
“It is surreal, I’ll be honest,” Rolls said of his unlikely opportunity to fight Golovkin. “I was thinking even about a month ago, ‘Man, I feel like I’m one of the best-kept secrets in the middleweight division and I can’t keep fighting the guys that I’ve been fighting. How do I get my name bigger?’
“When I beat Golovkin, that will be life-changing money. And once I’m victorious, it’s going to be like hitting the SuperLotto.”
At this point, we know Steve Rolls is Canadian, based currently in Toronto, and that he is 35 years of age. We know he is undefeated in 19 pro fights and that his best win is probably a 10-round decision over KeAndrae Leatherwood. We also know, based on what we know of Rolls and what we know of the fearsome Golovkin, he is going to almost need to be someone else on June 8 to spring what would arguably be the biggest upset of the year.