Miller Calls Out WBA After Mandatory Status Stripped

The WBA stripped Jarrell Miller of his heavyweight mandatory challenger status this week and called the ranking an inadvertent error, drawing a public response from the 38-year-old American who says the sanctioning body promised him something different when he stepped in the ring.

Miller won a hard 12-round decision over Lenroy Thomas in June, a fight billed everywhere as a title eliminator. The WBA then listed him as the division's official mandatory challenger in its July rankings. Days later, per Boxing Insider, the organisation announced that listing was wrong. Moses Itauma, not Miller, is the mandatory. Miller is now ranked second.

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Miller Says Fight Was Clearly Presented As Final Eliminator

In a statement posted to Instagram and addressed to WBA President Gilberto Mendoza Jr., Miller wrote that he attended conventions, paid his sanctioning fees, and respected the process. "That includes my last fight against my brother @lenorpero a fight that was clearly presented to me as a FINAL TITLE ELIMINATOR," he wrote, according to the Boxing Insider report.

Miller went on to question how the error happened after every fee was paid and every sacrifice was made. He asked Mendoza to investigate and correct what he called an injustice. "Fighters WANT TO FIGHT," Miller wrote. "But warriors need to know what they're fighting FOR. We shouldn't be risking our lives in that ring, fighting blindly with no clear path toward a world championship."

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The WBA has not explained who made the error, how it occurred, or what Miller's win earned him. Itauma, 21 and unbeaten, fights Filip Hrgovic on August 29 for the vacant IBF heavyweight title. Miller remains ranked second in the WBA's corrected standings, directly behind Itauma.

Miller reportedly referenced step-aside money in an Instagram Story earlier this week, though no offer has been confirmed by any party. The mandatory challenger position carries value in negotiations — a fighter in that slot must be fought, ordered to a purse bid, or paid to step aside at a price he sets.

Original reporting:

• boxinginsider.com — The WBA Owes Jarrell Miller More Than an Apology | BoxingInsider.com