A bizarre scene played out on the undercard of Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson’s super-fight on Saturday, as Jarrell Miller had his toupee punched off.
Miller was fighting Kingsley Ibeh when the latter boxed off “Big Baby”’s toupee in the second round, with the hair piece peeling off from the front and flopping all the way back – barely attached to the back of Miller’s head.
• FOLLOW LIVE: Lopez and Stevenson clash in mouthwatering duel in NYC
The strange moment, late in the round, drew a shocked reaction from the crowd in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, and Miller leant into the peculiarity by tearing off the toupee and throwing it into the stands.
He did so before the third round, sticking out his tongue and laughing off the matter, before boxing on with a ring of hair left around the top of his skull.
Miller, 37, went on to win the bout, beating his fellow American via split decision (94-96, 97-93, 97-93), before telling DAZN: “So, it’s kinda funny, right. I get to my mama’s house, and she had some shampoo bottles under her table, and I shampooed it.
“That s*** was like ammonia and bleach. I nearly lost my hair like two days ago, so I called my manager: ‘Let me slap that s*** on my on head real quick.’ And [Ibeh] slapped that s*** off!
“But like I said, it’s funny, man. Listen, I’m a comedian. You’ve got to make fun of yourself. You can’t take life too seriously sometimes, you’ve got to roll with the punches.”
Miller’s hairpiece was later seen on a ringside seat next to heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley, and Miller eventually danced out of the arena with a hat on.
Miller is one of the most-controversial heavyweights in boxing, and many remember him best for his cancelled fight with Anthony Joshua in 2019.
Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing
Never miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.
Buy Now
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing
Never miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.
Buy Now
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Miller was pulled from that bout after failing a pre-fight drug test, and it was not the only drug-test failure of his career. The American had previously failed a drug test during his kickboxing career, in 2014, and he later did so as a boxer in 2020.
After his fight with Joshua fell through, the latter went on to fight Andy Ruiz Jr on short notice and suffer the first loss of his professional career.
That stunning upset, which occurred via TKO, took place at Madison Square Garden, where Miller’s toupee fiasco played out on Saturday.
