“It’s like a Lotus Elise sports car; pretty fast, doesn’t have a lot of horsepower, it’s nimble on corners,” Miller said. “I’m like a big garbage truck, and I’m going to beat the hell out of him.”
While still a name, the 37-year-old version of Miller is fighting for survival. Since his return in 2023, his record hasn’t exactly screamed “title contender”.
For Miller, the Pero fight is his last chance to stay relevant. At 37, another loss, especially to a slicker, younger Cuban like Pero, would likely relegate him to contender status for the rest of his career.
He still tries to use that same Brooklyn swagger to rattle Pero, but the game is completely different now. In 2019, he was the undefeated challenger with the world at his feet. In 2026, he’s a veteran trying to prove he’s not just a “dumpster truck” with a dead battery.
The Brooklyn heavyweight has long relied on pressure, volume punches and personality, and he promised more of the same against the Cuban contender.
“It’s not going to be pretty. He can run, but I’m going to catch his ass, and when I do, his goose is going to be cooked, plain and simple,” Miller said.
Pero didn’t match Miller’s theatrics, but he dismissed the talk, saying the real answer would come once the opening bell rang.
“He’s pulled a lot of bullshit, but it doesn’t affect my psychology in any way,” Pero said. “I go in there and break him. I do my talking in the ring with my fists.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn described the contest as an important fight for the heavyweight division, with the winner taking a significant step towards bigger opportunities.
Miller missed out on a fight against Anthony Joshua in 2019 that would have made him a rich man and set him up for life. He tested positive for a banned substance and was subsequently replaced by Andy Ruiz Jr.
It’s a massive “what if” that must haunt him every time he looks at his bank account. That $5 million plus payday for the Joshua fight was Miller’s golden ticket to the elite level of the sport. Instead, he watched Andy Ruiz Jr. walking into Madison Square Garden, shocking the world and becoming a global superstar while Miller was on the sidelines serving suspensions.
If Pero can navigate the early pressure and exploit Miller’s aging gas tank, that “goose is cooked” comment could end up being prophetic for Miller’s own career.
