Lenier Pero vs Jarrell Miller Preview April 25th, 2026
Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller of Brooklyn, New York is set to meet unbeaten Lenier Pero of Cuba in a 12-round WBA Heavyweight eliminator this Saturday, April 25th. The fight from Las Vegas, Nevada can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Miller last fought in January when he beat Kingsley Ibeh of Nigeria via a hair-raising 10-round split decision. Pero last saw action in November when he beat Jordan Thompson by a 10-round unanimous decision.
Pero vs Miller Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Lenier Pero +115
- Jarrell Miller -145
My Pick
The 33-year-old Pero is a southpaw who fights out of Miami, Florida and makes the ring walk with a perfect mark of 13-0 with 8 Ko’s and just 58 rounds of experience since turning pro in 2019. He enjoyed an extensive amateur career with well over 100 bouts and fought in the World Series of Boxing. He was beaten as an amateur by Frazer Clarke, Joe Joyce and Frank Sanchez but also had several victories over Sanchez and won the 2011 Cuban National Championships. He also won gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games as well as the 2010 Youth Olympics and Youth World Championships.
Pero represented his homeland at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and was stopped by Filip Hrgovic in his second bout. As a pro, He’s won the vacant WBA Fedelatin Heavyweight Title as he stopped Jorge Arias in the second round in 2020 but hasn’t really fought anybody of note. Pero stands just over 6-feet-4-inches tall with a 79-inch reach and has pretty good power in his punches as his current knockout ratio clocks in at 61.5 per cent. He won five fights in a row by stoppage until going the distance with Detrailous Webster and Jordan Thompson in his last two outings.
The 37-year-old Miller will enter the ring with a record of 27-1-2 with 22 Ko’s. This will be his seventh fight since June, 2022 after being out of the ring for almost four years because of failed drug tests. He was due to meet Anthony Joshua before failing tests in 2019 and failed tests again in 2020 when he was scheduled to meet Jerry Forrest. His first fight back was June, 2022 in Argentina when he beat Ariel Bracamonte via a 10-round unanimous decision after having a point deducted in the fourth round. Since then he’s stopped Derek Cardenas and Lucas Browne while being halted by Daniel Dubois in the 10th and final round, drawing with Andy Ruiz over 12 rounds and beating Kingsley Ibeh by decision.
Miller’s a good-sized heavyweight at 6-feet-4-inches tall with a reach of 79 inches so is just a half-inch shorter than Pero and gives up an inch in reach. He entered the ring at just over 341 lbs against Bracamonte; 328 lbs against Cardenas and 333 lbs against Browne and Dubois but was down to 305 lbs against Ruiz while coming in at 317.5 lbs in his last fight against Ibeh. Miller’s not the typical muscle-bound heavyweight but his body shape has worked for him so far so he’s not expected to make any drastic changes in the near future. He’s also a former kickboxer who was a legitimate top-10 contender a few years ago.
Miller possesses better-than-average power as 81.5 per cent of his victories have been by stoppage and he’s halted 13 of his last 18 opponents. He turned pro in 2009 after a brief but successful amateur career and has 141 rounds under his belt since. He hasn’t fought any top-ranked foes other than Ibeh, Dubois and Ruiz but he has beaten a 41-year-old Tomasz Adamek as well Bogdan Dinu, Johann Duhaupas, Akhror Muralimov, Donovan Dennis, Gerald Washington, Fred Kassi, Mariusz Wach and Lucas Browne. The first draw on his record was a four-round affair with Joey Dawelko in 2013. Along the way, Miller won the vacant WBO NABO Heavyweight Title in 2016 when he stopped Nick Guivas in the second round.
Prediction…
The biggest thing Miller has to deal with now is getting older as he’s 37. He has underrated boxing skills but has been stopped before and he didn’t let his hands go as he usually does when he met Kingsley Ibeh earlier this year. Still, he has a solid chin and enough power to stop most heavyweights. This should be a close call as Pero has the better overall boxing skills but he hasn’t faced a legitimate contender as of yet. I can see this fight going either and the winner is going to be the boxer who decides to initiate the action and let the leather fly. As long as he keeps his hair on, I have a feeling Miller may edge it due to his experience against tougher opponents.
I’ll go with Miller’s experience in a tossup.
Play: Miller -145 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.