Podcast host Teddy Altas says Jarrell Miller was “robbed” of a win against Andy Ruiz Jr. former heavyweight champion in their 12-round bout last Saturday at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.
Atlas felt that Miller, 36, won all rounds after the third, sweeping 4 to 12 with work, violence, demolishing Ruiz. It was clear that Ruiz, 34, who hadn't fought in two years since 2022, had nothing left after the third round.
Atlas Criticizes Judges
The judges scored the fight as a draw over twelve rounds. Ringside fans booed the decision, feeling that Miller (26-1-2, 22 KOs) should have won over former IBF, WBA, and WBO champion Ruiz (35-2-1, 22 KOs). The score was 116-112 for Miller, but the other two judges had it 114-114.
The painting effectively saved Ruiz's career. If he had lost, his sale would have affected him a lot, and it would have hurt his intention to fight Anthony Joshua in the trilogy match.
That's the fight Ruiz has been fighting since his two-fight win against Joshua in 2019. Ruiz earned $10 million from those two fights, and has been pushing for a third ever since. He still has no desire to continue fighting for a third game.
“They encouraged him. It was a shame. It was very bad [decision],” said Teddy Atlas on his YouTube channel, in response to the judges scoring last Saturday's fight between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Jarrell Miller as equals.
Atlas echoes the sentiments of fans on the Ruiz-Miller results, as they saw it as a clear win for Miller. It wasn't that he looked good, because he looked bad, but it was Ruiz who had nothing left in his gas tank after the first three rounds. Ruiz battered Miller in rounds 4 through 12 and appeared to be stopped several times.
“Boxing has a problem—bad judges. I don't know if they are corrupt or incompetent, but they hurt Miller. After the third round, Miller won every round. Maybe the closest one [he lost to Ruiz in the last nine rounds],” said Atlas.
Some fans felt that if Miller hadn't been a popular fighter and fought in his hometown of Southern California, he would have failed to fight. In other words, if Miller had been a no-name player, the judges would have given Miller a decisive 9-3 victory last Saturday.
Miller may be facing a guy who is more popular and has bigger fights looming on the horizon. Those types of fighters are hard to beat. The way to beat them is to take them out and then take the judges out of the game.
Computer Points Required
In the future, I think humans should be removed from judging, and computers should score. That's a good way to score battles.
“He started using his hands, working without Ruiz and seeing Ruiz as the proverbial stone falling. He pushed it,” continued Atlas, saying that Miller will handle the fight starting in the fourth round and is in charge of the remainder of the contest last Saturday night.
“Yes, him [Miller] he was hit with some shots, but the punches fell short on Ruiz. If Miller had more in the gas tank, he might have stopped Ruiz. He won the next nine rounds, and then they robbed him. They made it equal,” said Altas.
Ruiz looked like he was going to be stopped in the later rounds starting in the 9th, but Miller couldn't muster enough offense to finish him off. Miller was too tired to throw punches for the full three minutes of each round, which allowed the badly injured Ruiz to survive. If this was a different heavyweight with better stamina, like Daniel Dubois, Ruiz wouldn't have made it past the eighth.
Atlas Champions Miller Performance
“He [Miller] I got a chance and I took full advantage of it, and I respect that. He lost weight [40+ lbs], and he didn't cry after that,” Atlas said. “See [Ruiz’s friends in the audience] they kept quiet because they thought he was lost.
“You heard the boos. They were screaming,” said Atlas, talking about the crowd's actions when the scores were announced after the fight. “I felt that this represented the mistreatment of Miller and another black eye in the game of boxing.”
The crowd was furious after the fight, and rightfully so. Ruiz had lost, but the judges had saved him. A rematch would make sense, but it's questionable whether Ruiz would agree to it because he could be offered other, more lucrative fights.
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