Former WBC World Heavyweight Title Challenger and WBA International Heavyweight Champion Johann Duhaupas has compared Filip Hrgovi? (9-0, 7 KOs) to legendary three-time World Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko.

The experienced Frenchman has been in Miami sparring Hrgovi?, alongside undefeated British heavyweight prospect Fabio Wardley and top Belgian cruiserweight Joel Tambwe Djeko, ahead of his WBC International Title clash with Eric Molina (27-5, 19 KOs) on December 7th at the purpose built Diriyah Arena in Saudi Arabia.

Duhaupas, who first encountered Hrgovi? at a Wladimir Klitschko training camp in Austria, says he has been impressed with the fast rising Croatian star, and states his ‘style and ability’ are similar to the elder Klitschko brother Vitali.

“I first met Filip at the Klitschko camp in Austria and he impressed me,” said Duhaupas. “He has a good right hand, fast and strong, and you can see he aims to become a World Champion. I smell it in him. His style and ability are similar to Vitali Klitschko.

Duhaupas is renowned for fighting some of the heavyweight division’s elite talent having faced the likes of Deontay Wilder, Alexander Povetkin and Jarrell Miller, and believes Hrgovi? is now ready to face similar big names.

“Deontay is a killer, but Filip already has a good right hand and maybe in one year with more muscle and power he could punch as hard as Wilder,” says Duhaupas. “With good mental and physical preparation, I believe Filip could win by KO against Miller or Povetkin.”

Hrgovi? must first overcome two-time World Title Challenger Molina from Texas, USA. A challenge Duhaupas believes the Olympic Bronze Medalist is ready for.

“It’s a really big opportunity for him,” he says. “When you are a good boxer with a good team you don’t care about travel, you only care about winning your fight. Filip wants to fight and he knows what he wants to achieve, I am very happy to train with him because his mentality is similar to mine.”

Hrgovic-Molina features on the undercard of the unified World Heavyweight Championship fight between Andy Ruiz Jr and Anthony Joshua which tops a stacked event at the Diriyah Arena, Saudi Arabia.

Also on the card are heavyweight clashes between Alexander Povetkin and Michael Hunter, Dillian Whyte against Mariusz Wach, Mahammadrasul Majidov vs Tom Little and more. All the action will be available to watch on DAZN in the US and other territories, RTL in Croatia and Sky Sports in the UK.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday on an HBO telecast from Brooklyn middleweight mandatory challenger Danny “Miracle Man” Jacobs dropped and decisioned Polish junior middleweight Maciej “Certainly Top 10, Maybe Top 5” Sulecki. Before that American heavyweight contender Jarell “Big Baby” Miller didn’t drop but did decision French journeyman Johann Duhaupas. Watching the 24 rounds felt heavy, damp, soggy even, like the card wasn’t primarily intended to entertain but to portend entertaining happenings some other time.

Twas another mediocre broadcast for HBO, but writing that feels bullying, unseemly, beneath oneself – uninsightful because anyone who already doesn’t know it anyway feels it. This column has lacked charity for boxing’s former heart and soul for sometime now, and since its writer isn’t sure such ungraciousness be merited, he needs err to the bonhomous side of the truth on occasion. Let’s try and make this that occasion.

Closing arguments are set to happen today in the Department of Justice’s case against a merger between communications company AT&T and media company Time Warner, parent to HBO, parent to HBO Sports, parent to the World Championship After Dark family or whatever brandnames boxing currently hides under (c’mon now, keep it gracious). These last two years of merging and not merging have to have hamstrung HBO’s coverage of our sport and serve to emphasize the importance of corporate continuity howsoever much business selfhelp literature still fetishizes disruption. Some clarity from a federal government that, under any other executive leadership of the last halfcentury or so, would’ve rubberstamped such a merger – does it obviously harm consumers in the next three months? well, in that case, 30,000 layoffs down the road is just the market god’s way – must be welcomed by those who operate within budgetary constraints. The case against the merger looks arbitrary and spiteful, of course, but it may set an unintentional precedent of asking how a corporate merger benefits customers and employees, not solely shareholders, rather than applying an eroding threshold of how much it harms them.

None of that helps HBO Sports’ nearterm outlook. If the merger gets blocked, a return to business-as-usual sees HBO continue to reexamine its relationship with our beloved sport, writing of erosion, under a new set of assumptions about how essential boxing is (we know boxing is in a bit of a renaissance right now, but the old data in the old bulletpoints of the old slideshows upon which old executives of old media companies make their decisions, why, those are probably partying like it’s 2014). If the merger happens, which even in our current war-is-peace moment still appears probable, HBO must immediately set about the task of seducing its new master, and does anyone think Danny Jacobs or Maciej Sulecki or Jarell Miller or Johann Duhaupas (or Vanes Martirosyan) composes a compelling case for more money?

Nobody does, no. Even those who would pay these guys whatever they were paid see them as a way to bring Anthony Joshua to HBO, or barring that, as a promotional tool for the GolovCanelo rematch that won’t happen Saturday. It’s the only obvious reason you pay the Miracle Man to fight the last weekend in April against a fortunately unknuckled Polish junior middleweight like Sulecki: To ensure by contrast a captive audience for the fifth installment of GolovCanelo 24/7. Untethered from that nearly nothing about Saturday’s broadcast makes sense much less resonates.

Jarell Miller is not very good; there’s not imagination enough in the known universe to call a 300-pound man who doesn’t hurt people compelling. “Oh, but he’s really active and his chest protrudes more than his belly!” – not a recommended bulletpoint for HBO Sports’ first presentation to AT&T management.

Danny Jacobs is a b-level talent with an interesting story that is now threadbare. He’s a cool guy you cheer for when he’s an underdog, but if you have to squint to see nextlevel talent against a tailormade b-side like Sulecki there isn’t nextlevel talent. “He went rounds with GGG!” – a mark of excellence solely within the ranks (measurably reduced since September) of an alternate reality that insists Golovkin is a historic talent. Anyway, when a unanimous-decision loss to Gennady Golovkin is the second-best victory of a prizefighting career begun in 2007 its bearer is not the future of the middleweight division.

Perhaps, then, Vanes “Former U.S. Olympian” Martirosyan is.

No.

A controversial and surprising conclusion, that, I know, but one written by a man who wears with understandable pride this distinction: I attended Martirosyan’s pro debut 13 years ago. That evening at Fort McDowell Casino the man then known as “The Nightmare” had Freddie Roach in his corner but couldn’t stop a 4-3-1 Texas trialhorse named Jesse Orta, foretelling a mildly disappointing career mildly full of mild disappointments.

Saturday Martirosyan becomes the third non-middleweight of the last four men to challenge middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin who is so dominant no middleweight will face him. Surely then, you’re thinking, if the most feared puncher in the history of the middleweight division hasn’t been fighting too-frightened middleweights he must’ve spent the last two years decimating light heavyweights or at least super middleweights? Why, no, actually. Golovkin’s reign of terror at 160 pounds has been perpetrated on two light-middleweights, and get this, a welterweight – 154, 154, 147 – a streak broken by an aforementioned victory over Jacobs inconclusive enough to be part of Jacobs promotions ever since.

But as this column nominally sought a philanthropic spirit towards HBO Sports’ prospects, let us end with a clarifying question about future budgetary items: How do the purses of HBO’s mainevent b-sides, Sulecki and Martirosyan, compare with the stipends paid for those events to Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman, Roy Jones and Harold Lederman?

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

Brooklyn, NY (April 26, 2018) On Thursday afternoon the fighters on ‘Straight Outta Brooklyn’, the massive international professional boxing event set for Saturday, April 28, 2018 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY took part in the Final Press Conference.

Below are quotes from the participants;

DANIEL JACOBS

“I get chills thinking about fighting at Barclays Center. I truly believe in my heart that I am the best middleweight in the world. I look to be impressive in all of my outings. Whether I win by knockout or decision I want to look my best.”

“It’s not just me I’m representing up here, it’s my whole team, Andre Rozier has been my trainer since I first put on gloves.”

“Thanks to Matchroom Boxing for giving me the platform and to HBO for believing in me after a very controversial decision. I’m excited to face Sulecki and know that with a victory bigger fights await.

MACIEJ SULECKI

‘This is a big fight and a best test for me, I know how good Danny is. I’m strong, I’m fast and I’m ready to win. I’ve had a very camp with my Coach in Poland. I have great fans in the US and in England and look forward to having their support on Saturday night. I can’t wait to get in the ring.”

JARRELL MILLER
“I feel terrific, glad to be back on HBO again on this great card, supporting my guy Danny Jacobs so tune in on April 28th for a great night. There’s been a lot of talk about my next fight but I’m not worried about that, I’m just looking to fighting Duhaupas, beating him and taking it from there. Hard work, dedication and cheeseburgers.”

JOHANN DUHAUPAS

It’s a real pleasure to fight at Barclays Center and on HBO. I’ve had a great training camp and I’m ready to be beat Jarrell Miller. I’m ready for whatever he brings in the ring and you will see on Saturday how good of a fighter I am.”

KATIE TAYLOR

“I’m so excited about this fight, this is a great opportunity for me. It’s a huge unification fight, it’s always been my dream to hold all the titles and this is another step. Thanks to Matchroom Boxing and everyone so much for the support.”

VICTORIA BUSTOS

“Thanks very much to Matchroom Boxing for this fight, I know how great Katie Taylor is, she’s very tough. This will be a great fight, I will do my best to bring both titles back to Argentina.”

DANIYAR YELUESSINOV

“Thanks everyone, I ‘m very excited to fight in New York. If you see me fight you’ll see my skills and I look forward to your support. I want to thank people who have been helpful to me on this journey and with my travels and a big thanks to all my fans in Kazakhstan and Matchoom Boxing.”

SHOHJAHON ERHASHEV

“I want to thank everyone for making this possible, I’ve had a great camp in Detroit and can’t wait to get into the ring and win my first title.

——————————-

Presented by Matchroom Boxing USA,’Straight Outta Brooklyn’, is headlined by the long-awaited return to Barclays Center of BROOKLYN BOXING Ambassador DANIEL JACOBS, (33-2-0, 29 KO’s) battling in a 12-round clash against undefeated Polish contender MACIEJ SULECKI, (26-0-0, 10 KO’s) in a WBA Middleweight World Title Final Eliminator.

Opening the live HBO World Championship Boxing telecast at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT is a 12-round heavyweight battle between Brooklyn’s undefeated heavyweight contender JARRELL ‘Big Baby’ MILLER, (20-0-1 ,18 KO’s) and former world title challenger JOHANN ‘The Reptile’ DUHAUPAS, (37-4-0, 24 KO’s) of Abbeville, France. The fight will be contested as a WBA Heavyweight World Title Eliminator.

Also returning to the Barclays Center, WBA Lightweight Women’s World Champion KATIE TAYLOR, (8-0-0, 4 KO’s) of Bray, Ireland will fight in a 10-round world title unification against IBF Lightweight Women’s Champion VICTORIA BUSTOS, (18-4-0), of Rosario, Argentina.

2016 Olympic Gold Medalist from Kazakhstan DANIYAR YELEUSSINOV will make his professional debut against NOAH KIDD, (3-0-0, 2 KO’s), of Jefferson City, MO in a four-round welterweight bout.

Fighting for the vacant WBA International Junior Welterweight Title in a scheduled ten rounder, SHOHJAHON ERGASHEV, (11-0-0, 11 KO’s), of Brooklyn, NY, faced ZHIMIN WANG, (10-2-0, 3 KO’s) of Wuhan, China.

Advance tickets for ‘Straight Outta Brooklyn’ starting at $42 may be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com, BarclaysCenter.com, or calling 800-745-3000. Tickets for the event can also be purchased at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. For information on group sales, call 844.255.9647.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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Twitter

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@BigBabyMiller

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@KatieTaylor

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HBO Sports heads to Barclays Center in Brooklyn for an explosive doubleheader when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: DANIEL JACOBS VS. MACIEJ SULECKI AND JARRELL MILLER VS. JOHANN DUHAUPAS is seen SATURDAY, APRIL 28 at 10:00 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT), exclusively on HBO. The HBO Sports team will call the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

The fights will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and partners’ streaming services.

In an intriguing middleweight showdown, Brooklyn-born headliner Daniel Jacobs (33-2, 29 KOs) makes his 2018 ring debut against Warsaw native Maciej Sulecki (26-0, 10 KOs), who now resides in Florida, in a scheduled 12-round fight. Jacobs, 31, has held training camp again on Long Island, and has his sights on a 160-pound title shot this year. Sulecki, 28, looks to keep his perfect record intact and pull off a big upset.

The opening bout is a scheduled 12-round heavyweight tilt between Brooklyn’s Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (20-0-1, 18 KOs) and France’s Johann Duhaupas (37-4, 24 KOs). Miller, 29, aims to put on an impressive performance in his second HBO appearance and earn a title shot. With three dominant wins in 2017, the 37-year-old Duhaupas seeks to spoil Miller’s plans and leap ahead in the rankings.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of HBO Sports is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jonathan Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

Bernie Bahrmasel: Thank you very much for all the international media joining us on this call today, and special thanks for the great turnouts we’ve had at our press events in New York City for Jarrell Miller’s media lunch and last week at Gleason’s Gym for Jarrell Miller and for Daniel Jacobs. The conference call today will be structured with Daniel Jacobs and Maciej Sulecki joining us first and Jarrell Miller and Johann Duhaupas in the second segment.

At this time, it’s my pleasure to turn over the call to the promotor of “Straight Outta Brooklyn,” Mr. Eddie Hearn from Matchroom Boxing.

Eddie Hearn:Thank you, Bernie, and thanks, everyone, for joining online today. I have to say, I’m very, very excited about this event next week because I think this middleweight division is lining up so perfectly. I mean, it’s in a mess but through the clouds we can see opportunities, we can see ourselves being active while others are being inactive and getting ready to be involved in some major, major fights, but firstly, Danny Jacobs has, I think, one of the toughest fights of his career against Maciej Sulecki who is undefeated. A very, very dangerous young man who comes with no fear, nothing to lose, agile, but as I’ve said before, I believe Daniel Jacobs is the best middleweight in the world, and now that things are shaking up in the division, he’s going to get a chance to prove it.

This fight is a final eliminator for the WBA Middleweight Championship of the world. The winner will be the automatic mandatory. I know GGG has his stuff to sort out, but there’ll be no escape after this fight, and we don’t have to be the mandatory, but we want to make sure that there’s no way out for any champion to fight Danny Jacobs, so it’s a great fight. Of course, it’s a double header on HBO. We’ll also have a big heavyweight matchup between Jarrell Miller and Johann Duhaupas, which we’re going to talk about after.

Even beneath those guys, off the HBO card, this card is absolutely stacked, I think the biggest star in women’s boxing, Katie Taylor, WBA world champion via Victoria Bustos, the IBF World Champion in a great unification matchup. Then we have, I think, one of the most hard-hitting, entertaining young fighters in Shohjahon Ergashev, 11 and 0 with 11 KOs and our debut of our Rio Olympic gold medalist, Daniyar Yeleussinov, the gold medalist at the Rio Olympics in the welterweight division from Kazakhstan, he’s an absolutely fantastic young fighter. But right now it’s all about the main event, Jacobs against Sulecki is going to be an absolute war at the Barclays Center. Thank you, as always to our friends at Brooklyn Boxing and of course, HBO. We’re looking forward to a big night and a massive statement ahead for Daniel Jacobs.

We’ll open it up now to the floor for questions.

Dan Rafael:Hi, Danny, good to talk to you. Eddie, thanks for doing this. Danny, I want to start with this question. I mean, I know you’re getting ready for this fight with Sulecki. It’s been in the planning stages for a while, it’s been on the books for a while but I wondered if there was any thought on your team’s behalf and maybe, Eddie, you could chime in on this also, that when the Canelo Alvarez fight was cancelled, if there was any thought about maybe knocking this fight out and seeing if you could get back in there for the rematch with Golovkin right off the bat, even if it was going to be at that point, maybe a month or so, a month and a half notice. Ever any thought in your mind that would be a great idea?

Daniel Jacobs:Well, it was a thought, but it wasn’t nothing that was very significant. I mean, I had, obviously, a contract with fighting Sulecki and I want to make sure he has his opportunity and give him his just due as well, with all due respect to him. He’s a tough opponent too so I know it’s going to be a great fight and that’s what I’m looking forward to, so even though I have big dreams and big hopes of fighting for the championship, I already had something lined in place. I know a lot of people think that GGG and Canelo, guys that—they’re superstars that are big and I get it, but at that very moment it wasn’t as if we needed that opportunity.

I consider myself to be the best middleweight in the world and I always wanted to make sure that I’ve prepared for this guy and this after this opportunity, if a great opportunity such as what has already presented itself with the WBA, this is kind of perfect timing so it was a thought but it was a thought that went and passed.

Dan Rafael:Okay, very good. Eddie, did you get any thoughts about that when this whole thing went down with GGG and Canelo?

Eddie Hearn:I’m not really into taking fights at short notice or without the right preparation for those kinds of fights when you have the opportunities in front of you that Danny Jacobs has. I think if he didn’t have a TV deal, if he wasn’t able to box, basically, whenever he wanted, if he wasn’t able to pick and choose his dates or fight at a great venue, then yes, there maybe it would have been a position to say, let’s try and get that instead but the future is very clear right now and one thing that we said to Danny when he joined the team was that he’s going to know exactly when he’s boxing. He’s going to be keeping nice and active and we don’t want to disrupt that, so we’re going to do our own thing. This is a real fight against Sulecki.

Of course, we’re looking at Canelo and we’re looking at Golovkin, but we’re not overlooking the fight on April 28and I’m really comfortable that after a great performance by Danny Jacobs on April 28, then you talk about the superstars of the division. I don’t see why Danny Jacobs is not a superstar of the division. I believe he already is and with the mess with Canelo and Golovkin, I make it a three-horse race right now between Saunders, Golovkin and Danny Jacobs.

Dan Rafael:That’s a fair point. I just have one more question for you, Danny. A lot of people aren’t that familiar with Sulecki. I mean, he hasn’t had a tremendous amount of exposure in the United States as far as TV goes. He is not from here, so it’s understandable that not a lot of people know him, but if you look at his record, he has some good wins on there. He stopped Centeno in the tenth round. Centeno is fighting Charlo for the interim title on Saturday. He has a very lopsided win against Culcay who had a belt for a little bit.

When you look at his record, what do you look at and see as far as how he stacks up in this weight class? Because he’s fought both at 160 and at 154.

Daniel Jacobs:Well, I look at him as a live dog. I look at him as a very worthy opponent. With his Centeno fight, it was a very impressive fight for me, and he was scouted to be the next, so the fact that he stopped him shows a lot and it says a lot about him. I think, his talent says a lot as well and most importantly, he has really good heart and he comes to fight, so him having that on his back and coming into Brooklyn, which is my backyard, I’m pretty sure this guy is willing to go.

Like I said, this is a great opportunity for both of us but for him, this is the first of his kind so he’s really going to go all out.

Dan Rafael:Got you. Okay. Thank you for that. I have one question for Sulecki, if he’s on. Sulecki, is that alright?

Maciej Sulecki:Yes.

Dan Rafael:Terrific. Could you ask him just about how he views this? I mean it’s not a championship fight but as Eddie said, it is an eliminator to become the mandatory for one of the belts that Gennady Golovkin has, and I just would like Sulecki’s view on the magnitude of this fight in his career with the opportunity to be fighting in this kind of arena on HBO against a well-known opponent like Danny Jacobs in Danny’s hometown.

Maciej Sulecki:I worked very hard for this opportunity, first of all, to be in this place, to stand in this position. I am ready. The previous fights were just a preparation for me being well-known to everyone. This kind of situation is giving me extra motivation. This is an extra, I’m going to use the word kick-in-the-ass for me to just be even better. Like I said before, maybe you guys didn’t know me before, but you guys are going to know me after this fight.

Dan Rafael:Alright, very good. Thank you, guys. I appreciate your time today.

Keith Idec:Yes, my question is for Sulecki. Can you ask him what he thinks of Danny and how Danny fared against Golovkin? What he thinks of him, overall, as a fighter?

Maciej Sulecki:First of all, this was the best Danny Jacobs fight ever. I don’t think he can ever repeat this kind of performance. It was more about Golovkin not fighting tactically well. It was a bench fight by Golovkin and I am really surprised why people are judging Danny Jacobs only by using his fight versus Golovkin. Why not judge Danny to his fight versus Arias?

Keith Idec: Maciej, do you think that Danny is overrated? Is that what you mean?

Maciej Sulecki:No. I think he’s a very good fighter and I’ve always said this. I have a lot of respect for Danny and to his character and his boxing skills, but I don’t treat him as anyone really special.

Keith Idec:But, is Danny the best you’ve fought?

Maciej Sulecki: Of course. When you look at paper and pen and wins and losses, Danny Jacobs is the best fighter who I ever fought, but we’re going to verify who he is on the April 28.

Keith Idec:Who is the best fighter he has fought before Danny?

Maciej Sulecki:It’s hard to say but the guy who didn’t really match with my skills was Culcay.

Keith Idec:Thank you

Gayle Falkenthal:Good afternoon, good morning, everybody. Danny, you’ve been working now for several bouts with Chris Algieri and I’d like to hear more now that you’ve had more time with him, how that’s impacted your training, and then I have a follow up related to that for Mr. Sulecki.

Daniel Jacobs:Thank you. It’s been quite well, actually. We’ve grown, not only our relationship together but I think I’ve grown knowledge with this guy. He’s taught me a lot about the body, he’s taught me a lot about nutrition and how I can prepare myself from this point out. It’s shown me a great opportunity to work with somebody who is a former world champion, who is a stellar fighter himself and who’s been through the same trenches and the same training regimens that you’ve been in, the tough tactics that we’ve had to go through each and every time we’re in training.

To have somebody who understands is an incredible feeling and it’s all that I’ve been learning throughout the past, two fights with this guy—this is our third fight, actually, so three fights. It’s really been great for me. No complaints.

Gayle Falkenthal:Time flies. He’s feeding you more than just food.

Daniel Jacobs:Yes. He’s feeding my soul. He’s feeding my brain and he’s motivating me, so yes, it’s a lot more than just food.

Gayle Falkenthal:And, then turning on the same subject to Mr. Sulecki, because of working this way, Danny has been able to come in on the day of the fight in a fairly good size. Are you concerned at all about seeing the size differential on fight night?

Maciej Sulecki:No, this is absolutely not my concern because the night of the fight I expect to be as big as Danny Jacobs. If there’s going to be any difference, maybe it’s going to be 2 pounds, maybe 2.5. Now, the question is who is going to have more?

Gayle Falkenthal:Very good. Thank you. I do have one more follow up question, if I have a moment and this is back to you, Danny, and Eddie, you need to be listening. You had, obviously, a change of promotor and sometimes, as Americans, we look on in envy seeing these huge British crowds, these major promotions. What do you think the difference is and what kind of difference is it making in your career?

Daniel Jacobs:It’s a great opportunity to have a promotor genuinely care about you and truly push for you and to making you the superstar that I always knew that I could be, so I’m just glad that I have someone, no matter where he’s from, no matter what he does, he pushes hard for his fighters and that’s mostly what I’m grateful for. Thank you.

Eddie Hearn: Danny is the boss. There’s always an old adage that the promoter is but it’s not that way at all, especially not with us. I mean, Danny calls the shots, we provide the opportunity for him. We’re just getting started. This is the second fight on HBO. The first one, we got the win. Now, we go for the big performance and the big statement. The path is starting to become clear and we see ticket sales improving dramatically from the last fight.

Obviously, now he’s back in Brooklyn as well and we’re really looking to put on a big show on April 28 with the undercard, with the entertainment and with Danny Jacobs. It’s a pleasure to work with him and the motivation for me is to see him become world middleweight champion. Again, that’s really all I care about in his journeys, is to give him the opportunity and to watch him become champion again.

Gayle Falkenthal:Thank you very much, gentlemen. All the best to you.

Eddie Goldman:Danny, I want to ask you in terms of again, about the issue of the weight. Do you view Sulecki as more of a middleweight or a junior middleweight? Because he did fight Centeno at middleweight but his last couple of fights, including against Culcay were at junior middleweight, so how much of a factor do you think that’s going to be in this fight?

Daniel Jacobs:Well, I don’t think it’s going to be a huge factor. I mean, he fluctuates up and down so he’s very comfortable. I would pursue him to fight as a middleweight. I wouldn’t think that it would be a drastic difference. Like you said, he’s going to be in there about the same weight as I’m going to be in there, so it’s really no different. It’s all about the skill. Weight shouldn’t be really a factor inside the ring anyway because Muhammad Ali once said, “You can’t hit what you can’t see,” then it doesn’t make a difference anyway. And, that’s what I look forward to improving on, on April 28, is that I have the skills to pay the bills. It’s not anything to do with weight or weight advantage. It’s going to be strictly what I possess internally.

Eddie Goldman:What advantages do you see that you have in this fight?

Daniel Jacobs:Almost every one, but to be descriptive, I’ll say I have way more experience with being at this position with the lights and the cameras and the action and having this specific type of mega fight. I won’t say this is the mega fight with Sulecki but it’s in Brooklyn, New York, it’s on HBO and it’ll be in front of hopefully a sold-out crowd in Brooklyn. I’m used to stuff like that at this point in my career, and I think that takes you a long way in the sport of boxing. Floyd Mayweather said, “The greats always perform best under the lights.” And, I think I really do well under the lights.

Now, I’ve come into my own over the years and with the GGG fight, I really felt like I really made a stamp and I really told myself a lot, who I am and what I have to offer to the sport, and we just want to continue that. It’s going to be a very competitive fight for however long it lasts and I’m looking forward to proving to the world that I’m the best middleweight.

Eddie Goldman:Do you have a prediction for the fight?

Daniel Jacobs:I don’t like making predictions, I just see myself being the victor and having my hands raised by the end of the night.

Eddie Goldman:You were asked about the Arias fight, the last fight, and not being able to stop them. Do you want to comment on, I mean, you pretty much scored almost a shutout on the cards, but can you comment on your performance in that fight?

Daniel Jacobs:I think I did very well. I think you can’t knockout everybody, especially when a guy goes into survival mode. Arias is a tough customer and he has skills. He didn’t show the skills that night, but he was able to hold on and show a little bit more defense, a lot more defense than offense, and it was really up to me just to look impressive and I think I did just that, even though I didn’t get the knockout.

You can’t really knock everyone out. Golovkin was made out to be knockout artist, he didn’t knock everyone out and a lot of other people in boxing, they can say the same thing. It’s about judging my performance, and did I look sharp? Yes, I did. Did I win every round? Yes, I did. You have to look at the things like that because just because a guy doesn’t get a knockout, I mean you can’t say it’s a bad performance because I looked very impressive and studying that fight, I did a lot of things right.

Yes, I could have done more, as all boxers could do more once looking back at their past performances, but judging that fight, I do think I did very well.

Eddie Goldman:Do you plan to stay at 160 for a while? Because I know there was some talk, maybe you would go up to 168 because you’ve been at 160 for quite a long time. Have you thought about that?

Daniel Jacobs:That was just a thought, but right now my focus is being the king at middleweight. I have a job right now, it’s not done. I’m going to make sure that if I go up to 168 pounds, I’ve taken care of everything that I need to take care of in the middleweight division. I’m not overlooking anyone but at the same time, I’m comfortable with making 160 pounds. I know I’m probably one of the biggest middleweights out there, but I have no problem making weight. I can’t help if the fans are saying I’m too big or I’m a weight bully or whatever the illusion is out there in the world, I think my skills speak for themselves.

Eddie Goldman:Alright. Good luck in the fight.

Eddie Hearn:This is another great fight in the division and very important in the worldwide rankings. Jarrell, it looks like Anthony Joshua’s going to be hopefully ringside for this fight, as well, to watch. I think Jarrell Miller is due a big performance. I think he has some good wins, some solid wins against Washington and Wach but I think Duhaupas is going to really come and give him a fight. You saw him in a great fight with Deontay Wilder, you know, an eleven-round war, and now I think Jarrell Miller’s going to make a really big statement in front of his home fans on April 28.

Dan Rafael:Hello, everybody, once again. Jarrell, good to talk to you. How you been?

Jarrell Miller:I’m good brother, how are you?

Dan Rafael:I’m good. Thank you. My question for you, I know you have to fight this fight on April 28, but of course, everybody knows that there’s the possibility that this would be like the audition fight for you to get a shot at Anthony Joshua and his unified heavyweight championship, and I wonder from your perspective, is that distracting to you, or is that motivation for you? What has Eddie told you about the prospect of you getting that fight with a victory on April 28?

Jarrell Miller:Yes, well first of all, there’s no distractions, because I haven’t seen any paperwork, and I verbally haven’t heard anything from Eddie Hearn about that. It is all media talk. When I actually see a physical paper or some kind of agreement or something, either physical or have a conversation about it, then I’ll believe it. You know what I mean, so I’m not a gullible guy. I don’t believe half of anything until it’s actually in front of me. My main focus is Johann Duhaupas, and I’m going to knock him out and then I go to the drawing board to see what fits me best.

Dan Rafael:Jarrell, when Duhaupas fought for the title against Wilder, a couple of years ago, I mean granted he lost the fight, but he had a couple of big moments in that fight. He kind of rocked Wilder at one point. Do you put any stock in that as something you have to be concerned about or do you think that was sort of, you he got kind of a lucky moment for him in that fight?

Jarrell Miller:I mean, you got to be ready for anything. You know what I mean. Remember, everybody’s talking about Gerald Washington was going beat me, he gave Deontay Wilder what was the toughest five rounds of his career. You can’t praise the guy on a loss, I mean you can learn from certain things from the loss. Like I said before, I’m a totally different fighter than Deontay. So, I’m not going to take nothing from it bad, but I can take some good from it and I say, listen, I know you can take a hell of a beating, and come back to me and you’re going to take more of a beating.

Dan Rafael:Okay. Very good. Eddie, if you could address the prospect of this to many being an audition for Jarrell as a possible summer fight against Anthony Joshua. What are your thoughts about that possibility?

Eddie Hearn:I’ve seen a lot of Jarrell Miller comments, I know he doesn’t believe it, but what we all we can do is say that Jarrell Miller against Joshua is a fight we’re very interested in. If we’re going to come to America, that’s a fight that would definitely appeal to us. The fight I’ve mentioned to Jarrell before and Dmitry, he’s right, he doesn’t have any paperwork, but we’ll see what happens. I think if has a commanding performance against Duhaupas, why not make that fight happen, but listen, whether he takes it or not is up to Jarrell, and whether he believes it or not, is up to him as well.

Dan Rafael:Okay, very good. Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate it.

Keith Idec:My question is for Johann. If you could ask him what he thinks about Jarrell Miller, or maybe how Miller compares to Wilder, in terms of how difficult an opponent he is?

Johann Duhaupas:Jarrell Miller he is undefeated boxer, and he’s boxing at home so he has this advantage. We can’t compare Miller and Wilder because they are both very different. Miller is very heavy and he just keeps pushing and Wilder use a lot of his legs and he is very good shape.

Keith Idec:Yes, I have a question for Jarrell. Jarrell, he’s been knocked out before, of course. I know you can’t go into fights looking for knockouts, but how important is that to you to be able to knock him out next week?

Jarrell Miller:I mean, you know a lot of times fighters say they don’t go into fights looking for knockouts and I always told fighters, interviewers, and the public, all the time that that’s a lie. As fighters, you always try to look for the knockouts. In every one of my fights I try to go for the knockout. Will it come? I sure hope so. Am I going to go look for it? Damn, right.

So, come April 28 Johann got some heavy hits and a heavy body in front of him and I’m not going to back up. I like his fighting style, I think he’s tailored made to me, I think he’s going to bring the fight and that’s what’s going to cause him to get his behind knocked out, come April 28. So, just be ready.

Keith Idec:I just have a quick question for Eddie, also. Eddie, if you could just tell him how important it is for Jarrell to look good and maybe knock out Duhaupas in this fight if he does get the opportunity to fight Joshua to sell that fight?

Eddie Hearn:Jarrell’s got to do what Jarrell’s got to do. He’s not about Jarrell chasing the Joshua fight. Jarrell wants to fight for the world heavyweight title, I’m sure. And Dmitry wants to take him to that position. Obviously, if he looks good, and people are interested to see the fight, there’s more chance of it happening, but I think Jarrell has a tough enough job in front of him on April 28. He has to focus on getting the win. If he can look great, he’s on HBO, he has a massive audience watching him, and it’s a chance to really establish himself and make a statement for the division.

Keith Idec:Thank you, guys.

Gayle Falkenthal:To Jarrell, and then the follow up to Johann, same question. It’s similar to Keith about his question to making a statement, obviously, you’re in line either of you with a win for perhaps a much bigger opponent and the heavyweight division has always been a division of very big personalities to go along with being big men. So, how important is it to, not only to make the statement, but be entertaining in this division of very big personalities?

Jarrell Miller:I do know we have two heavyweight champions and both of them are not really entertaining outside the ring. One is a hype job to me and the other one just run his mouth a whole lot. So, when it comes to being a full package, you better be the full package. The only thing that’s missing is the title around my waist.

Come April 28, I’m going to show the people, show the fans, and show the media why this baby’s next in line. Like I said before, they can run, but they can hide for so long. Of course, you’ve got to be both. You know, that’s part of the game, there’s so much PR to sell but if you get in front of a microphone, or in front of a camera, they have no personality, which we see in AJ, he has no personality, and Deontay, just talk a whole bunch of rubbish, you know what I’m saying? So, it’s going to gravitate to you, especially to an American heavyweight like, Deontay Wilder. So, like I said before, once you get there and I kick in that front door, it’s a whole different story.

Gayle Falkenthal:How do you compare yourself to the other American heavyweight that we just mentioned, Deontay, who some people do find him entertaining and he does make a lot of noise?

Jarrell Miller:He’s just bound to make a lot of noise. He had a title for over three years I mean, he was just starting to make some noise. It took him long enough. I compare myself better than all of those guys because I know what I bring to the table. Even though my last performance wasn’t the best, come April 28, you’re going to see a bigger, stronger, faster, more incredible, mammoth of a heavyweight. And you’re going to see why that I am so unstoppable and you’re going to see why when it comes to April 28, what I’m going to bring to the heavyweight division.

Gayle Falkenthal:And to Johann, same question.

Johann Duhaupas:Miller is just an American making noise. I understands that, but I choose not to do it.

Eddie Goldman:Johann, you’ve had some very interesting fights. I know you took the fight with Povetkin at the last minute because of what went on with that fight and had a couple of fights after that. Where do you think you are you now as a fighter, and now that you’ve had proper preparation for this fight with Jarrell Miller?

Johann Duhaupas:I’ve never been as ready as he is now. I’m very confident, because I have lot of experience from my previous fights I’ve had really great preparation. I’m ready and I can beat Miller. He thinks he will beat me easy and then face Joshua. I am preparing in the United States, I am ready to go tomorrow.

Eddie Hearn:Yes, thanks everyone for joining in. I think, again, we have such a stacked card, April 28, Barclays Center, two brilliant TV fights on HBO, as well. Jacobs, Sulecki, final eliminator, a very important fight for the heavyweight division in Big Baby Miller against Johann Duhaupas.

We look forward to seeing you all for fight week activities, Wednesday for the workout, Thursday for the press conference, Friday for the weigh in, and Saturday for the big fight night. We’ll see you there.

————————————————

Presented by Matchroom Boxing USA,’Straight Outta Brooklyn’, is headlined by the long-awaited return to Barclays Center of BROOKLYN BOXING Ambassador DANIEL JACOBS, (33-2-0, 29 KO’s) battling in a 12-round clash against undefeated Polish contender MACIEJ SULECKI, (26-0-0, 10 KO’s) in a WBA Middleweight World Title Final Eliminator.

Opening the live HBO World Championship Boxing telecast at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT is a 12-round heavyweight battle between Brooklyn’s undefeated heavyweight contender JARRELL ‘Big Baby’ MILLER,(20-0-1 ,18 KO’s) and former world title challenger JOHANN ‘The Reptile’ DUHAUPAS, (37-4-0, 24 KO’s) of Abbeville, France. The fight will be contested as a WBA Heavyweight World Title Eliminator.

Advance tickets for ‘Straight Outta Brooklyn’starting at $42 may be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com, BarclaysCenter.com, or calling 800-745-3000. Tickets for the event can also be purchased at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. For information on group sales, call 844.255.9647.

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BROOKLYN, NY (April 4, 2018) Undefeated heavyweight contender, Brooklyn’s Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller(20-0-1, 18 KO’s), hosted a media lunch in New York City on Tuesday, April 3 to discuss his upcoming, highly anticipated 12-round clash with former world title challenger Johann ‘The Reptile’ Duhaupas,(37-4-0, 24 KO’s), of Abbeville, France set for Saturday, April 28, 2018 at Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING and televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing (10:00 p.m. ET/PT).

Presented by Matchroom Boxing USA, Miller vs. Duhaupas is the co-feature at the massive ‘Straight Outta Brooklyn’international boxing event and will be contested as a WBA World Heavyweight Title Eliminator. Miller is currently world ranked #3 by the WBA, WBO and IBF.

“There’s a lot of talk about other fights for me after April 28 but I’m going to continue focusing on Johann Duhaupas and not let anything affect my training. Of course I’d like the fight with Anthony Joshua.”

“I want to be a world champion in and out of the ring, not just be a heavyweight champion but live that life, giving back when I can like my work with cancer survivor Lili Weaver and I’m honored that HBO got behind that. HBO has done a great job with me and I respect them very much.”

“I was given a chance and people helped me and I want to give back when I can, it’s part of who I am as a person outside the ring.”

“I want to show Eddie Hearn and HBO what I can do in the ring every time out. I’m 310 right now but I’ll be 290 when I get in the ring, I’m a big hitter and I’ll prove it in the ring on April 28 against Johann Duhaupas or anyone else that gets in the ring with me.”

“Deontay Wilder has great punching power but Ortiz was too old to compete with him for 12-rounds. When Deontay faces a young hungry bull like myself it will be a different story.”

“Lucas Browne didn’t want to be in the ring, he was unprepared and out of shape. Dillian Whyte is not a ferocious puncher but he did what he was supposed to do however Browne wasn’t’ even trying.”

“I feel asleep watching Anthony Joshua vs. Joseph Parker, it wasn’t a very exciting fight. Joshua wasn’t going to lose a fight in England on the scorecards. AJ has been given gifts from the amateurs through the pros. His whole career has been in England. Come to Brooklyn AJ and

I’ll show you what’s really up!”

‘Fighting smaller or older boxers isn’t going to test AJ, fight someone like me and I’ll take all his belts before leaving the ring.”

Headlining‘Straight Outta Brooklyn’, former Middleweight World Champion and BROOKLYN BOXING Ambassador DANIEL JACOBS, (33-2-0, 29 KO’s), returns for a 12-round middleweight showdown against undefeated world ranked Polish contender MACIEJ SULECKI, (26-0-0, 10 KO’s) televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Presented by Matchroom Boxing USA, advance tickets for ‘Straight Outta Brooklyn’starting at $42 may be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com, BarclaysCenter.com, or calling 800-745-3000. Tickets for the event can also be purchased at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. For information on group sales, call 844.255.9647.

Previously announced in an outstanding women’s world title unification bout, WBA Lightweight World Champion KATIE TAYLOR,(8-0-0, 4 KO’s) of Bray, Ireland returns to Barclays Center battling over 10-rounds against IBF Lightweight Women’s Champion VICTORIA ‘La Leona’ BUSTOS, (18-4-0), of Rosario, Argentina.

From the boxing rich country of Kazakhstan, the sport’s next big star, 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, welterweight DANIYAR YELEUSSINOV will compete in a six-round bout in his can’t misspro debut.

Additionally, fighting in a scheduled 10-rounder on the undercard, fast-rising unbeaten knockout artist SHOHJAHON ERGASHEV, (11-0-0, 11 KO’s), a native of Uzbekistan, now fighting out of Brooklyn, NY will face China’s ZHIMIN WANG, (10-2-0, 3 KO’s).

Brooklyn police officer and undefeated lightweight prospect DIMASH ‘Lightning’ NIYAZOV, (13-0-0, 6 KO’s), will be making his Barclays Center debut in a six-round bout.

Fighting in a six-round bout on the undercard, exciting welterweight prospect JULIAN SOSA, (11-0-1, 4 KO’s), originally from Mexico, now fighting out of Brooklyn, NY, will battle for the fifth time at Barclays Center.

Also seeing action from boxing rich Clones, Ireland, ‘Lethel’ Larry Fryers, (6-0-0, 2 KO’s), will fight in a six-round welterweight bout.

Further details on these bouts will be announced shortly.

Brooklyn, NY (February 26, 2018) Tickets are Now On Sale for ‘Straight Outta Brooklyn’, an outstanding evening of professional boxing on Saturday, April 28 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY and televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Presented by Matchroom Boxing USA, tickets starting at $42 may be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com, BarclaysCenter.com, or calling 800-745-3000. Tickets for the event can also be purchased at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. For information on group sales, call 844.255.9647.

Headlining the event, former Middleweight World Champion and BROOKLYN BOXING Ambassador DANIEL JACOBS, (33-2-0, 29 KO’s), returns for a 12-round middleweight showdown against undefeated world ranked Polish contender MACIEJ SULECKI, (26-0-0, 10 KO’s).

Opening the HBO telecast, undefeated Brooklyn heavyweight contender JARRELL ‘Big Baby MILLER, (20-0-1, 18 KO’s) faces former world title challenger, JOHANN “The Reptile” DUHAUPUS, (37-4-0, 24 KO’s), of Abbeville, France, over 12-rounds in a WBA World Heavyweight Title Eliminator.

Also returning to Barclays Center on the non-televised portion, WBA Lightweight Women’s World Champion KATIE TAYLOR, (8-0-0, 4 KO’s) of Bray, Ireland will fight in a 10-round world title unification against IBF Lightweight Women’s Champion VICTORIA BUSTOS, (18-4-0), of Rosario, Argentina.

Additionally, fighting in separate 10-round bouts, former heavyweight world title challenger ARTUR ‘The Pin’ SZPILKA, (20-3-0, 15 KO’s), of Wieliczka, Poland, returns along with emerging, unbeaten knockout artist SHOHJAHON ERGASHEV, (11-0-0, 11 KO’s), a native of Uzbekistan, now fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, against opponents to be announced.

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#JacobsSulecki

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Brooklyn, NY (February 20, 2018) Matchroom Boxing USA held a press conference today in New York City to formally announce a sensational HBO World Championship Boxing double-header on Saturday, April 28, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Headlining the event, former Middleweight World Champion and BROOKLYN BOXING Ambassador DANIEL JACOBS, (33-2-0, 29 KO’s), returns for a 12-round middleweight showdown against undefeated world ranked Polish contender MACIEJ SULECKI, (26-0-0, 10 KO’s).

Opening the HBO telecast, undefeated Brooklyn heavyweight contender JARRELL ‘Big Baby MILLER, (20-0-1, 18 KO’s) faces former world title challenger, JOHANN “The Reptile” DUHAUPUS, (37-4-0, 24 KO’s), of Abbeville, France, over 12-rounds in a WBA World Heavyweight Title Eliminator.

Also returning to Barclays Center on the non-televised portion, WBA Lightweight Women’s World Champion KATIE TAYLOR, (8-0-0, 4 KO’s) of Bray, Ireland will fight in a 10-round world title unification against IBF Lightweight Women’s Champion VICTORIA BUSTOS, (18-4-0), of Rosario, Argentina.

Tickets to the event start at $42 and go On Sale This Friday, February 23 at 10 a.m. To purchase tickets, visit Ticketmaster.com, BarclaysCenter.com, or call 800-745-3000. Tickets for the event can also be purchased at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center beginning Saturday, February 24 at noon. For information on group sales, call 844.255.9647.

Below are quotes from the participants along with EDDIE HEARN, President of Matchroom Boxing.

DANIEL JACOBS

“HBO believes in me and I am going to make sure I do my part. Maciel Sulecki is a tough competitor. Luis Arias was all talk, he didn’t give the fans what they were expecting. I believe Sulecki will bring a fight. He’s skillful and with his determination that makes him dangerous.”

“I know that I have to be at my best to make sure he doesn’t ruin my plans to rule the Middleweight division. Boxing is about the best fighting the best. Champions shouldn’t talk about what people bring to the table, they should fight the best.”

MACIEJ SULECKI

“This is my dream – when I was a kid I wanted to fight on HBO as a main event in New York – but it’s not a dream, I need to win this fight and I know I will win this fight. Everyone will know my name after this. Luis Arias was a clown who only talked, he was scared of Danny – I’m not. I’m a Polish warrior and you will see that in a really big war.”

JARRELL MILLER

“Johann Duhaupus is a tough guy man – he’s boxed some good guys and put on good performances at short notice. He’s got a full camp to fight me so I have to bring the best Big Baby to the show. Being big is a privilege, don’t hate on it, I have the biggest punch output in the division so Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder can’t walk me down. Come April 28 – the French fry is going to get cooked!”

JOHANN DUHAUPUS

“I can’t wait to come to New York City to fight, I’m so excited and I know that this is the most important fight of my career – Jarrell is a great talent and a dangerous fighter, but this is a huge chance for me and I won’t let it slip by.”

KATIE TAYLOR

“I’m so excited to be in Barclays Center again. It’s a huge fight for me against a great opponent, one of the longest reigning champions but I’m training hard already and I know I can deliver a big performance. Last year was huge for me but it was only the start and I believe that 2018 will be even bigger.”

EDDIE HEARN

“There’s a saying in the UK and I’ll use it here – this is boxing porn. We have Brooklyn, Poland, France, Ireland, Argentina and England.”

“We joined HBO for many reasons, but the main one was to get Danny Jacobs a shot at the winner of Canelo vs. GGG and I’m going to be doing everything I can to make that happen. Danny showed he was elite against Luis Arias. Now he’s got to take on a dangerous guy in Maciej Sulecki and he knows that, he has the fear and that is going to make Danny so dangerous.”

“The Heavyweight division is blowing up now. Miller vs. Duhaupas is a massive fight for the division – and I think the winner is in line for a shot at Anthony Joshua. We are talking to Barclays Center about Anthony Joshua fighting in Brooklyn, and against Miller that would be huge.”

“Katie Taylor has won it all as an amateur and she’s taught me that it’s not about women’s boxing – it’s about boxing. Katie is the best female fighter on the planet – no question. The Irish will be out in force and do not miss this girl fight, she’s incredible.”

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#JacobsSulecki

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Daniel Jacobs will face undefeated Polish dangerman Maciej Sulecki at Barclay Center, Brooklyn on April 28 on a huge night of action live on HBO and Sky Sports, as Katie Taylor aims to unify the Lightweight division against Victoria Bustos and Jarrell Miller and Johann Duhaupas clash in an eliminator for the WBA World Heavyweight title.

Jacobs is back in action at the scene of his biggest career victory, a stunning first round knockout of Brooklyn rival Peter Quillin in December 2015. Known as the “Miracle Man”, for his miraculous recovery from cancer in 2012, Jacobs is returning to battle following a dominant 12-round unanimous decision over then undefeated Luis Arias in November at NYCB Live, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Challenging for Middleweight supremacy in March 2017, Jacobs lost a very hotly contested and controversial 12-round decision to Gennady Golovkin in New York City, the first distance fight for Golovkin in nine years.

Jacobs is currently world ranked #2 by the WBA and #3 by the WBC, IBF and WBO in addition to being ranked #3 by ESPN.com. This will be his fifth time fighting in his hometown venue, Barclays Center and his second fight under new promoter Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing USA.

“I’m very excited to be back in the Barclays Center, it always feels like home fighting there,” said Jacobs. “I want to thank Eddie Hearn, HBO and Brett Yormark for making it possible.”

“I’m looking forward to fight Sulecki on April 28, he’s an undefeated guy that I know will be looking to make a name for himself by beating me. I’m looking to have a great training camp and get myself focused to really put on a show for the Brooklyn fans come April 28.”

A native of Warsaw, Poland, now living in Florida, Sulecki capped a very successful 2017 with a ten round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Jack Culcay in October at the Prudential Center in Newark. Over the course of his eight years as a professional, Sulecki has compiled wins against notables including Hugo Centano Jr., Grzegorz Proksa, Darryl Cunningham and Damian Ezequiel Bonelli. Sulecki is ranked #6 in the world by the WBO.

“This is an excellent opportunity for me to fight one of the very best Middleweights in the world,” said Sulecki. “I’ll be very well prepared to stay undefeated and defeat Jacobs in front of the Polish boxing fans at Barclays Center as I continue my march to become a world champion.”

Heavy-handed Miller scored two dominant stoppages in 2017. Fighting for the first time at Barclays Center in July 2017, Miller stopped former world title challenger Gerald Washington at the end of eight rounds.

Following that up most recently, Miller stopped former world title challenger Mariusz Wach in the ninth round in November 2017 at Nassau Coliseum.

Duhaupus stormed through 2017 with three dominant wins including an eighth-round stoppage of Newfei Quatah in December in Levallois-Perret, France.

Among the top names Duhaupus has battled over his thirteen-year professional career are WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder, Alexander Povetkin, Robert Helenius, Manuel Charr and Erkan Teper. Miller is currently world ranked #3 by the WBO, IBF and WBA while Duhaupus is world ranked #7 by the WBC.

“Nothing makes me more gratified and blessed to do what I love best and that’s to get back in the ring and continue to solidify my place as the next Heavyweight Champion of the world,” said Miller.

“This fight on April 28 is just the next step to being recognized as the best in the world and a training ground for Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. Thank you HBO, Eddie Hearn and Dmitry Salita for this amazing opportunity. Big Baby Miller and Big Baby Promotions is here.”

“A top Heavyweight does not have to be heavy or light, fat or slim – a Heavyweight just needs to be strong,” said Duhaupas. “I will show on April 28 that I am strong enough to beat Jarrell Miller.”

Taylor puts her title on the line for the second time after the Irish star landed the title in Cardiff in October in Cardiff against Anahi Sanchez and successfully defended it against Chicago’s Jessica McCaskill in London in December.

Long-reigning IBF champion Bustos is in her sixth defence of the IBF strap she won back in September 2013, all in her native Argentina, and the 29 year old has also fought for the WBC Super-Lightweight strap in her impressive career at the top level.

Taylor is gunning to end Bustos’ run as champion in style on her return to Brooklyn where she boxed in July 2017, launching her bid to collect all the Lightweight titles in 2018.

“Becoming unified champion is very important to me,” said Taylor. “Last year was great but I’m not really one for looking back and it’s all about the next challenge. I believe that winning my first world title as a pro is just the start of it, I want to fight all the other champions and unify the Lightweight division.

“Bustos is one of the longest reigning champions in women’s boxing so I’m expecting a very tough fight. I’ve been back in training camp in Connecticut since the beginning of the month so the hard work has started and I’m excited to have the chance to win another World title.

“I got a great reception when I fought there last year so I’m really looking forward to boxing there again. It’s a unification fight and the Barclays Center is a fitting venue for a big fight like that.”

Additionally, fighting in separate 10-round bouts, former Heavyweight world title challenger ARTUR ‘The Pin’ SZPILKA, (20-3-0, 15 KO’s), of Wieliczka, Poland, returns along with emerging, unbeaten knockout artist SHOHJAHON ERGASHEV, (11-0-0, 11 KO’s), a native of Uzbekistan, now fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, against opponents to be announced.

“I’m delighted to stage our first show at Barclays Center – it’s a huge night of World Championship Boxing,” said Eddie Hearn, President of Matchroom Boxing. “Daniel Jacobs faces a tough test against Maciej Sulecki and I believe victory will lead him to the winner of ‘GGG’ and Canelo the following week. That’s what Daniel wants, that’s what HBO wants and it’s what the fans should demand.

“There is also a brilliant heavyweight match up between Brooklyn’s own Jarrell Miller and France’s Johan Duhuapas who we saw go 11 exciting rounds with Deontay Wilder stateside – the winner will progress to a shot at the Heavyweight World title.

“Also, the biggest star in women’s boxing, WBA Lightweight Champion Katie Taylor goes for unification glory against IBF Lightweight Champion Victoria Bustos and Polish Heavyweight contender Artur Szpilka will bring his Polish army of fans along for his return. Additionally, unbeaten knockout artist Shohjahon Ergashev is also in action following his impressive victory in January. There is plenty more to be added, this is going to be a stacked night of boxing from start to finish.”

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