The heavyweight clash between Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller and Michael “The Bounty Hunter” Hunter is officially off, with both camps pointing fingers over why the September 11 bout collapsed during Canelo–Crawford fight week in Las Vegas.
Trouble started when Don King fired a cease-and-desist over plans to stage Hunter–Miller on DAZN at the Fontainebleau, citing his October 4 show for Kubrat Pulev vs. Hunter for a WBA secondary title. On Thursday, Miller posted a letter from promoter Steve Bash stating, “As a result of various unresolved legal and regulatory issues … we cannot proceed with the bout as originally contemplated.”
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Those “regulatory issues” ran deeper than scheduling. The Nevada Athletic Commission had yet to receive a formal bout request, and while that could have been fast-tracked alongside Hunter’s licensing, a regulator confirmed the commission had not received Miller’s drug-test results. Nevada mandates clean tests for previously suspended fighters 30, 15, and 3 days out; the bout was 21 days away, making the timeline tight at best.
Ranked WBA No. 1, Hunter appears poised to pivot back toward the Pulev assignment on October 4. Miller, the WBA’s No. 3, is left in limbo - publicly sharing Bash’s note and lamenting “partners unwilling to proceed under the circumstances,” while the opposing side insists the contractual and compliance roadblocks were plain.
In short: contractual crossfire, commission protocol, and the clock conspired to shelve a compelling heavyweight grudge match - at least for now.
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