Elite heavyweight boxing returns to Madison Square Garden -- the "Mecca of boxing" -- on June 1 as heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (22-0), fighting outside the comfort of his native United Kingdom for the first time, faces New York's Jarrell Miller (23-0-1) in what should be a historic night for combat sports.
Joshua, who won a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics in London, has been atop the heavyweight division since knocking out Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.
Before their memorable 12-round draw in December, fellow undefeated heavyweights Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder used their podium time not only to get in each other's heads but to sell fans on a potential megafight against Joshua. A Joshua-Wilder or Joshua-Fury fight would be one of the highest-grossing events in combat sports history, but that is on hold until Fury and Wilder resolve their differences.
Enter Miller, a compact 6-foot-4 puncher with 20 knockouts in 24 pro fights, to welcome Joshua to his backyard. Joshua is considered the more naturally gifted boxer of the two, and if their initial press conference is any indication, Miller will try to shake Joshua’s confidence.
Joshua’s selling power combined with Miller's hostility helped set a reported record for ticket sales in the pre-sale window, breaking MSG’s previous pre-sale record (Gennady Golovkin-David Lemieux, October 2015).
In his last fight in September, Joshua finished Russia's Alexander Povetkin in the seventh round in front of a sold-out, adoring crowd of 80,000 inside London's Wembley Stadium. Joshua, who is managed by the popular Eddie Hearn, now is looking to expand his global reach by making a splash in the Big Apple. If Joshua can navigate past Miller in reasonably dominant fashion, expect Hearn to find Joshua another fight to build his brand while Fury and Wilder fight for dibs in the heavyweight division.
The June 1 showdown at the "World's Most Famous Arena" will either be a coming-out party for the world’s budding boxing superstar or the stage for a local fighter to pull a shocking upset defending his turf. Expect Fury and Wilder to be watching very closely.
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