When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments Joshua is still searching for an opponent after Jarrell Miller was pulled from their June 1 showdown. Miller tested positive for three banned substances so he will miss out on the biggest payday of his career. Ortiz, whose only defeat of his career came against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, was one of the favourites to replace Miller. But his team have now confirmed the fight will not be going ahead because they have not received a satisfactory offer.<doc-sep>AJ a huge favourite to beat the Cuban should he stand in for Jarrell Miller. Anthony Joshua may end up facing Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz on June 1st, and should he do so, the Watford-born champion is 1/10 to remain unbeaten as a professional. Joshua’s fight with Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller at Madison Square Garden is at risk due to ‘adverse test results’ from the challenger. This could open the door for Cuban-born Ortiz to have a crack at the unified world heavyweight champion. 40-year-old Ortiz holds a record of 31-1 as a professional. His sole loss came at the hands of Deontay Wilder back in 2018. Of those 31 wins, 26 have come via KO, meaning that it could be fireworks should he and Joshua (21 KO’s in 22 fights) face off. Ortiz is a huge 6/1 shot, while the draw is available at 33/1. Joshua has been odds-on for every fight he has been in as a pro and was most recently 1/20 when defeating Alexander Povetkin at Wembley last September. Oddschecker spokesperson Callum Wilson: “Having well and truly proved himself to British fans, winning over the US will be key to cementing AJ’s legacy as one of the greatest ever. “Having given him a 91% chance of winning, the bookies clearly believe that this would be yet another routine win for the champ. “Many fans will want either fight done and dusted so attention can turn to a potential unification fight with The Bronze Bomber, who is priced at 15/8 to terminate AJ’s streak.”<doc-sep>Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn always has a lot on his plate, but now he’s facing major uncertainty over Anthony Joshua’s U.S. debut at Madison Square Garden on June 1, as Jarrell Miller has failed a drug test. There’s already plenty of speculation about possible replacements, and Hearn sat down with iFL TV to talk about what’s going on as of now. On the status right now “We’re working away, obviously. I spoke to AJ — June 1st, Madison Square Garden, that’s the date. Obviously we got a lot of phone calls last night from a lot of heavyweights who smell the pound note and want to fight for the world heavyweight title. So we’ve got to go through the ones who are genuine and the ones we think are credible, and go from there.” “Everyone’s extremely disappointed. It’s a fight that we wanted. It was a good fight. Obviously (Miller’s team) wanted the fight. I saw a tweet from someone, someone said, ‘Jarrell Miller had won the lottery and all he had to do was cash the ticket, and he didn’t do it.’” On Anthony Joshua’s reaction “Without kissing his ass, AJ was incredible. ... He was the first person I called. ... He said, ‘You’re joking.’ He didn’t even sound that surprised, to be honest with you. He went, ‘OK, well, who’s next?’ I said, ‘Well, who do you want?’ He said, ‘Absolutely anyone. No problem. Anyone.’” “I don’t think he’s over the moon with Jarrell Miller, especially everything that’s been said in the build-up and stuff like that, but if the B-sample does come back positive then at least — this is the reason that these tests are insisted upon by him and the team. Now it’s gonna be the big debate, the multi-million dollar question, who’s he gonna fight?” On whether or not Miller is being fully ruled out right now “It don’t look good, is what I’m saying. There’s a lot of issues to overcome, contractually as well. I think that right now the mindset is, ‘who’s the replacement?’” On what the New York commission may rule “To be honest, I don’t really know. I mean, VADA report findings, they don’t make sanctioning decisions. VADA don’t say, ‘OK, you failed a test, you’re banned for two years.’ The commission will. And obviously if he’s failed a test, that’s it, mate. It’s very similar to the Billy Joe Saunders incident, as well. You failed a test, that’s it. Whether you were cheating, whether you were terribly unlucky, is fucking irrelevant.” On if Miller’s team have offered an explanation on the failed test “It’s irrelevant to me. What can I do about it? Absolutely nothing. ... It’s not up to me. I can’t go to VADA or the commission and say, ‘Give him a five-year ban!’ Or I can’t go and say, ‘It’s alright, let him fight,’ which would be the completely wrong thing to do anyway. There’s nothing I can do other than go through all the calls we’ve had in the last 12 hours and decide on who’s right, who’s wrong, who really wants it, who’s just fishing, who’s messing around — go through it, and go ahead with the Garden on June 1, building a massive card. Katie Taylor was just announced two days ago for an undisputed title fight. It’s not ideal; it’s boxing, it’s life, we go on.” On possibly moving Joshua’s date “We haven’t talked about a new date. Look, we’ve sold over 17,000 tickets, you’ve got over 10,000 Brits flying out. We’re delivering. We will deliver. And now, we go through that process.” On there being a contingency plan for the fight “I know people who have said, ‘Just to let you know, I’m training for this fight and if anything happens with Jarrell’ — there’s actually one person who quite eerily said, ‘Just to let you know, I’m ready to fight Joshua on June 1.’ And I said, ‘He’s fighting Miller.’ And he went, ‘I know, but just in case anything happens, I’ll be ready.’ This was a month ago. And they messaged me again last night and said, ‘I’m ready.’” On getting calls from possible replacements “As you can imagine, last night, a whole host of — I mean, ones that if I made, you would lynch me. And obviously a lot of credible guys. People see a massive opportunity, and so they should. It’s not like we’re two weeks away, we’re just under seven weeks. So really if you’re a heavyweight, you’ve got enough time to prep for the world heavyweight title.” Lightning round: potential replacements Luis Ortiz “Love that fight. Love that fight. That is an ideal scenario. That is a big fight. His team spoke to us, my feeling from them was he won’t be ready. I disagree with them. The argument is that’s a better fight or a tougher fight than Jarrell Miller, some might say.” Manuel Charr “I saw Manuel Charr said they’re in negotiations. We’re not. He sent me a text saying, ‘I will accept the fight.’ He’s WBA regular champion. He’s on a list of eight who I would say are at least sort of registered in the mind to at least look at and consider.” Adam Kownacki “Yep, (he’s being considered).” Dillian Whyte “If Dillian Whyte wants to fight Joshua in June, bit weird at MSG, 100 percent. But he ain’t gonna be ready for June 1. If he is and there’s a serious conversation, we’ll talk on that. But he’s training for July.” Joe Joyce “I don’t look at Joe Joyce as, like, heavyweight world championship contender yet. I think he’s a really good fighter. He’s not registered in my mind like an Ortiz or Kownacki or even a Charr.” Others “A lot of people talk about Michael Hunter, who we’ve signed as well. Michael Hunter is actually a tricky fight for AJ. Smaller, American, good fighter, coming off two good wins, one loss in his career to Usyk.” “Pulev we like as well, if he wants it. I know he’s got a few issues.” “(Joseph) Parker said he’ll go again. I don’t think that’s an option.” “David Haye phoned me up, he said, ‘Just to let you know, if Chisora knocks out Gashi on Saturday, we’re calling out AJ at the O2.’ Do what you want.” “Now we’re gonna have a bit of fun with this. Last night, I wasn’t in the best shape. Now I’ve decided, fuck it! We’re gonna have some fun with this. Who do you want? Call them out! Tweet them! Tell them to come forward! Tell them this is your chance to fight at MSG for the world title for a load of money.” “It is madness, but it’s boxing. I don’t know what else to tell you.” “Any fighter really, that says, ‘Seven weeks ain’t enough to fight for the world heavyweight title,’ when you’re not making weight, I mean, it’s a cop-out.” On if his first choice would be Luis Ortiz “Yes. And that’s the first name (Joshua) gave me last night.”<doc-sep>
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Anthony Joshua may not get to face Jarrell Miller for his United States debut at New York City's Madison Square Garden on June 1, but the WBA Super, IBF and WBO world heavyweight champion would welcome Luis Ortiz as a replacement. Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn have been left scrambling to find a possible alternative opponent after Miller tested positive for a banned substance on Wednesday. Hearn told IFL TV (h/t Metro's Coral Barry) Joshua already has an opponent in mind: "(Ortiz) was the first name he gave me last night. I called him and just said, 'Mate, I've got terrible news, Miller's failed a drug test'. He didn't even sound that surprised. He said, 'Okay, who's next?' I asked who he wanted and he said absolutely anyone, no problem." A Joshua and Ortiz fight is something Hearn would like to see, even if he has doubts it will happen: "Love that fight, that is an ideal scenario. That is a big fight. My feeling from their team is he won't be ready. I disagree with them. The argument that is a tougher fighter than Jarrell Miller." ADRIAN DENNIS/Getty Images Joshua isn't going to be short of fighters wanting to take Miller's place on the card, even with Hearn not keen to change the date. Barry noted how 16 boxers have volunteered to replace "Big Baby." Video Play Button Videos you might like Miller returned an "adverse finding" from a sample submitted to VADA, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency on 20 March, per BBC Sport. The 30-year-old accused Joshua of doping earlier this year, an accusation denied by the latter's camp. While there still hasn't been any official word on Miller's status for the bout in New York City, he appears to be proceeding as if the fight will go ahead: Hearn had already taken a similar line, indicating Miller's status won't alter the timeline of Joshua's first appearance on U.S. soil: Getting the fight he and Joshua want may be a challenge, even though Ortiz doesn't have a bout scheduled. The 40-year-old is a heavy-hitting southpaw who is 31-1-0 as a professional, so he would likely give Joshua a stern test. However, Ortiz is no stranger to anti-doping controversy. The fighter nicknamed "King Kong" was stripped of his mandatory challenge status by the WBA in 2017 after failing a drug test. It was the second failed test of Ortiz's career and ironically cost him the chance to take on Joshua. The latter was being pushed by the WBA to give Ortiz a title shot. Perhaps the motivation of finally finding out what he could do against Joshua can push Ortiz to be ready to fight in June. If not, Hearn should have no problem choosing an alternative from a growing list: One fighter unlikely to take Miller's place if needed is familiar foe Dillian Whyte. Hearn doesn't believe the man knocked out by Joshua in the seventh round at the 02 Arena in 2015 will be ready: He may not know who will step between the ropes to square up to Joshua in June, but Hearn is determined to keep the fight on. Joshua sharing the same commitment is good news for those intending to cheer the 29-year-old on in person: The ideal outcome would be for Hearns and Johsua to get the fight they want, meaning Ortiz gets to appear at the Garden.