In a hard-hitting main event, Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller stops Bogdan Dinu to remain undefeated in the heavyweight division. DAZN’s fight card also featured a stoppage victory by Brandon Rios, and wins by IBF, WBA, and WBC Female Middleweight Titlist Claressa Shields and rising prospect Nico Hernandez.
Post-fight ringside quotes, as well as the main card’s results are below.
Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller
On the fight tonight: “My jab was better than his, but I couldn’t get off my front foot. I’ve been battling a cold since I got to Wichita I knew I was going to get him. That’s boxing, I just needed to adjust.”
On conditioning: “He was getting winded once I started throwing body shots. I had to get my footing down, I knew I would get him.”
On what’s next: “We’re looking at a few fight, talking to my team, and Eddie on what’s next. We want AJ but he’s busy. Let Trevor Bryan pick up the phone and I’ll beat his butt too. I think it’s time I knock out a Brit.”
On what he learned: “I come to fight, and nothing was given to me. Putting all the BS aside, I’ve been on my own since I was 17. I’m a fighter and people think I’m 315 pounds and talk smack. I’m a lovable guy and eat cheeseburgers.”
Claressa Shields
On her performance: “Absolutely she was tough and her skill set was tough. I’m further apart than most woman. I respect her for accepting the challenge. Christina Hammer is going to take it worse than that.”
“I knew she was going to be tough. Saw her against Alicia Napoleon. At this level everyone is tough, this is world championship boxing. No one is going to lay down.”
On feeling different from her last fight: “I had all my energy and exploded when I needed to. We did work on that in camp, we worked on placing my shots. I had some good body shots and head shots. We have been working on that for 11 weeks in camp. I’m happy with my performance. I need to watch my performance and give myself a grade. I give myself a B+ for now.”
On future weight class: “154, 147 I’ll look like a stick. My nutritionist is great. Wasn’t a day I starved in camp. Last time there were a couple days I did. I’m the greatest woman of all time. When you can get a woman who can beat me, you can take that away.”
Nico Hernandez
On the walk to the ring: “Every fight I look at it like it’s a championship fight. It wasn’t much different than my first besides people watching on tv. I love fighting for my city. Shout out to 316!”
On when you knew it would go the distance: “When he start moving around a lot, I knew it would be different. It was going to be hard to get to him because he’s a southpaw. I just adjusted and made it work.”
On the audition for promoter: “It went good just how I imagined it. Tried to fight smart and came out victorious.”
On 2019: “A lot more victories, and going by the flow. I’ll talk to my team and go from there.”
Brandon Rios
On strategy going into fight: “I just fight the way I fight. Be different. I fight smart, fight with head movement and my jab.”
On what changed after the first round: “I felt the heaviness and I’m not used to it. I had to get used to the heaviness of him after the 1st round. I’m used to 147 not 151. We’re warriors and we came to fight.”
On preparing for this fight: “Changing the training camp the regiment, changes to my team. I had bad habits leading to big fights. I’m very grateful for the big fights. I’m Brandon Rios, that’s how I fight.”
On what’s next: “I’m signed to Eddie Hearn and DAZN. I got my next fight with Eddie, and excited for it. If you want to put me in the next title shot, I’m there.”
12-round Heavyweight Bout
Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller vs. Bogdan Dinu
Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs) defeats Bogdan Dinu (18-1, 14 KOs) by KO at 2:45 of Round 4.
10-round World Female Middleweight Title Bout @ 160 lbs.
Claressa Shields vs. Hannah Rankin
Claressa Shields (7-0) defeats Hannah Rankin (5-3, 1 KOs) by unanimous decision.
(100-90, 100-90, 100-90)
8-round Flyweight Bout @ 112 lbs.
Nico Hernandez vs. Josue Morales
Nico Hernandez (6-0, 4 KOs) defeats Josue Morales (8-8-3) by unanimous decision.
(80-72, 80-72, 79-73)
12-round Super Welterweight Bout @ 151 lbs. (catch-weight)
Brandon Rios vs. Ramon Alvarez
Brandon Rios (35-4-1, 26 KOs) defeats Ramon Alvarez (27-7-3, 16 KOs) by TKO at 38 seconds of the Round 9.
Boxing on DAZN returns Dec. 15 from Madison Square Garden when Canelo Alvarez challenges Rocky Fielding for the WBA World Super Middleweight Title.