Sherdog Boxing: The Weekly Wrap

Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller Loses License for Joshua Fight after Positive PED Test

It ends up that 300-pound plus fighter with an incredibly high work-rate for a heavyweight despite carrying a significant amount of both muscle and fat is on endurance boosting PEDs. Shocking, I know.

Miller, who ironically accused Anthony Joshua of using PEDs based off his shredded appearance, tested positive for GW1516 this week. GW1516, also known as cardarine or endurobol, is a Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor that has both fat-burning and endurance-boosting qualities but was linked to the rapid development of cancer in trials on mice making it one of the scarier performance enhancing drugs on the black market. As a result, he lost his license to fight in New York and now Anthony Joshua is pursuing other opponents for June 1 at Madison Square Garden.

Unless Joshua can get Luis Ortiz to replace Miller, this is a huge disappointment for boxing fans and the reportedly 17,000 fans who already bought tickets for the fight.

‘GGG’ Officially Fighting Canada’s Steve Rolls June 8 at MSG

Speaking of disappointment, GGG’s DAZN debut was made official this week. He will officially be facing Canada’s Steve Rolls at 164 lbs on June 8 at Madison Square Garden. Rolls was supposedly chosen because DAZN wants to boost their numbers in Canada, and because “The Contender” winner Brandon Adams chose to fight Jermall Charlo on Showtime for more money. Rolls is undefeated at 19-0, but he’s never faced an opponent of note and at 35 is only two years younger than GGG. There are definitely signs that Golovkin is on the downward slope of his career, but he’s not bad enough to lose this fight. Expect the ugliest scene of Kazakh-on-Canadian violence since Borat kidnapped Pam Anderson.

David Lemieux Injures Hand, Fight with John Ryder Cancelled

Speaking of Canadiens that had no chance against Gennady Golovkin, David Lemieux reportedly injured his right hand this week so his fight against John Ryder which was supposed to be on the Canelo-Jacobs undercard has been cancelled. This was supposed to be Lemieux’s 168 pound debut after a bad weight cut left him hospitalized trying to make 160 against Tureano Johnson, and many predicted the fight would be a decent test for him in the new weight class. Luckily for Lemieux, his left hook has always been his money punch, so while hand injuries are never good, if he had to have a bad hand this was the one he would have picked.

Claressa Shields Thinks She Could Beat Up Keith Thurman

In a rather clever marketing ploy, Claressa Shields has begun talking about how she would fare against the top men in boxing. Shields told TMZ she spars with men all the time and beats them up, before adding she believes she could beat up Keith Thurman and give GGG “a run for his money.” This is a no-lose situation for Shields; she will never actually fight a man so she can talk as much trash as she wants, and this declaration will thrust her into the mainstream sports conversation in a way she never could by just being a great female boxer.

But talking about facing men has always been a risky distraction. Ronda Rousey was talking about fighting men right before her downfall. Michelle Wie and Annika Sorenstam did their best once they bailed on the idea of competing on the PGA Tour. Hopefully Shields is just looking for attention, because talking about fighting men is a sure sign that your mind is wandering. And that could be dangerous, no matter how good Shields is.

Talksport Says Yarde-Kovalev a Go

According to Michael Benson of Talksport, WBO president Paco Valcarel says there is no need for a Kovalev-Yarde purse bid as terms have been agreed for the fight to take place in Russia. Supposedly, an official announcement will be made sometime next week. Once again, all credit to Yarde if the fight happens in Russia. And once again, with the KO rates involved this fight could be very good and very telling in regard to both Kovalev and Yarde’s futures.

Lebron James Executive Producing ‘40 Days’ Boxing Training Documentary

Lebron James is executive producing “40 Days”, a boxing documentary series that will focus on “the buildup to big fights” beginning with its first iteration, which will focus on the Canelo-Jacobs fight. Between “24/7,” “All Access” and the various other “Countdown” shows we have seen in combat sports the formula is getting stale. Hopefully, “40 Days” will bring something new to the table.

Murat Gassiev Moving Up to Heavyweight

Oleksandr Usyk’s heavyweight future is the talk of the sport, but his onetime WBSS opponent is moving up to heavyweight as well. This week, Murat Gassiev, the Russian fighter of Iron descent whose sole loss was that decision to Usyk in July, announced he would be signing with Matchroom Boxing, moving up to heavyweight and fighting on DAZN.

Because his only loss was to Usyk, who many consider the future of boxing and the heavyweight division, there’s no way to tell how good Gassiev is. Still, with Miller’s PED issues and Pulev’s #metoo problems, there’s room for another quality heavyweight in the division. We’ll see if Gassiev can fit the bill.

Floyd Mayweather Trolls Social Media with ‘Big Announcement’

Floyd Mayweather tweeted a video this week, where he teased he would be making a big announcement, clearly implying a comeback fight was coming soon. There were actual boxing related accounts on twitter theorizing that he would be announcing a Pacquiao rematch, a fight with Keith Thurman, or a special rule match against Nate Diaz.

Instead, Floyd announced “my next opponent is Draft Kings” because he is partnering with Daily Number, the newest daily fantasy sports company. This was genius-level trolling from Floyd, who -- unlike Dana White and his “huge” announcements -- knew exactly what he was doing.

Zab Judah to Face Cletus Seldin on June 7

Speaking of Floyd Mayweather, former Mayweather opponent Zab Judah will be facing Cletus Seldin on June 7 at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in upstate New York. This should be a fun fight; Judah is 41 but was one of the slickest boxers of his generation, while Seldin is only 31 but was embarrassed by Yves Ulysse Jr. in his HBO debut.

Seldin also has a YouTube channel devoted to his love of Funko pop collectible bobbleheads. Fun fact.