The Setup:
We have an undefeated American prospect VS an older yet not particularly experienced American journeyman as the second ESPN match of the night. It was likely meant to be a perfect opportunity for a hungry fighter to showcase himself with a TV KO.
Miller: He is a Brooklyn man with a fighting history. Boxing, Kickboxing, MMA. A good background at that. As a pro boxer though his major note for me comes more for having sparred with the heavyweight champion of the world, Wladimir Klitschko, in helping him prepare for David Haye in 2011, than anything else. Todd Grisham says Jarrell Miller's motto, contrary to Floyd Mayweather Junior's motto of "Hardwork, dedication" is "Hard work, dedication and cheeseburgers." So, in other words, Miller, as a prospect, is not exactly putting us on notice to expect a lot, even though he's obviously a natural fighter with some talent and is still a natural, fully-sized heavyweight. He comes in at a very questionable 281 lbs - nearly 20 heavier than his last fight, which was only in this last November. Yikes.
Kinch: The man they put in front of Miller, Aaron Kinch, against his only other commonly recognisable opponent, the powerful and undefeated southpaw prospect Charles Martin, was stopped in four. Aaron is a 35-year-old, five-victory veteran with one kayo win under his belt. Aaron has fought in five American states and is now used to traveling his country to ply his trade for the past few years. He very clearly comes in as "the opponent" for Jarrell Miller, considering limited experience, in his mid-thirties already. This wasn't meant to be a good contest from the start. It was a filler fight on the card, to us, the fans.
The Action:
Again, not much was meant for us in this match, and knowing that, it couldn't really have been disappointing. I can't imagine it was much help to Miller in experience, as he wasn't tested in any way or forced into adapting. It may have helped him pay the bills, but that's about it. While Miller showed off his natural ability in each round, his offensive diversity, his overall strength and control, his floppy-chested physique and lack of putting Kinch away did underwhelm for his prospective hopes and television stock.
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't really a bad watch, all things considered. Kinch was gritty. Very gritty. When you're losing every round and the deck was meant to be stacked against you and you have a six-rounder few will think much about afterward, it wouldn't have taken anything unusual to pack it in, take a knee to see if the referee showed some mercy, especially toward the end of this match, with Kinch so tired it seemed hard to fire above Miller's hip area, and clearly getting damaged. With all of that as the context, Kinch refused to just be a statistical improvement to a young prospect's kayo ratio. No, Kinch dug deep and put his health on the line and wouldn't go away. He kept slipping under one shot, getting caught hard by the next, throwing what he could and usually not causing Miller to so much as pause and reset. It may not be good for Aaron that he refused to be stopped, but it was a proud effort and I admired him for it. Admiration aside, it was a fair and wide Jarrell Miller UD6 Aaron Kinch.
What It Means To Me:
I see a bit of Chris Arreola in Miller. A good, natural fighter, a little humour about his pectorals, but I don't see a suggestion he'll be the next champion or cares even as much about it as Arreola has. I wouldn't mind seeing him fight again, but I wouldn't likely think twice about it if he never made it back to television. He's earning a living. Nothing wrong with that, but not much to talk about. The division, and his country, they both have more interesting prospects ahead of him until he shows us otherwise. America still has the likes of Bryant Jennings and Deontay Wilder. Heck, it still has the likes of Arreola and Chambers for that matter. As for Kinch, as I said, he did himself no disservice, all things considered, but he didn't have what he needed to change his lot in life against Miller. No shame in that either. The match did little for either man or the audience, I don't think. Two in a row that weren't exactly great picks from ESPN on Friday night, even factoring in budgetary concerns for the channel.
Work that bag,
Basement Gym Boxing
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