Heavyweight 'Big Baby' Jarrell Miller scores TKO victory against Fred Kassi
Heavyweight prospect Jarrell Miller remained undefeated with a third-round TKO against veteran Fred Kassi in the ShoBox: The New Generation main event Friday from Rhinos Stadium in Rochester, N.Y.
Kassi (18-5-1, 10 KOs) outboxed Miller (18-0-1, 16 KOs), nicknamed "Big Baby," in the first round, but Miller went to work on the body and turned up the pressure over the next two rounds.
Miller landed 36 of 57 power punches in the third round, including 30 to the body, and by then Kassi had seen enough, retiring on his stool after the round, citing a hand injury.
The 6-4 Miller, who came in more than 50 pounds heavier than Kassi, has now won 14 fights in a row.
"I knew it would take some time to get going tonight. I was thinking maybe three or four rounds to warm up and get going. But in the second round, I got my wind and I knew I hurt him," said Miller, ranked among the top 10 heavyweights in three of the four major sanctioning bodies. "My legs came alive and I touched his body and his head. I knew I was going to get the stoppage.
"I think he could have continued, though. He just didn't want to. That's why I take my hat off to Deontay Wilder. I still want to break his jaw, but he finished his fight with a broken hand. That's what champions do. Kassi didn't want to continue.
"Let's talk about all these heavyweights. Tyson Fury, he doesn't want this work. He's always complaining. He's always sick or something. I don't know what's wrong with him. Wilder, every five minutes he breaks another finger. Look, it's just a matter of time before these guys are going to have to put up or shut up. Anthony Joshua, that's going to be a mega fight. I am just begging for him to call my name."
Kassi said he must have hurt his hand in the first round because "in the second, every time I hit him I felt a shock. I wanted to keep going but he's a big guy and I couldn't use my hand," he said. "When you fight a guy that is 50 pounds heavier than you are, you need all the weapons."
In the co-main event, lightweight Mason Menard scored a brutal knockout at 2:26 of the ninth-round over Bahodir Mamadjonov. Menard (32-1, 24 KOs) was kept at bay through the first six rounds, but in the seventh dramatically turned the fight around with body shots that produced two knockdowns.
The ninth round brought another series of power shots leading to the third and final knockdown, prompting referee Steve Smoger to stop the contest.
At the time of the stoppage Menard, who outlanded Mamadjonov 10-0 in the bout's final 26 seconds, was ahead by two points on two scorecards and four points on the third.
"I feel great, but it was a B-level performance from me," said Menard. "I could have done better. My opponent was an awkward fighter and we got him with two weeks' notice."
(Photo of Miller, right, and Kassi by Rosie Kohe, Showtime)