Davenport heavyweight Donovan Dennis will encounter what every fighter does in their career, redemption. Dennis will step back into the ring January 22nd at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona exactly 8 months after his ESPN Boxcino Heavyweight Tournament loss to hard hitting Andrey Fedosov.
Dennis’ plan is to redeem himself and prove to the boxing community that he belongs in the heavyweight division as he challenges another hard punching prospect in New York’s undefeated Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller 15-0-1 (13). Dennis and his trainer, Nile Peña, plan on changing his game plan compared to the Fedosov fight where he seemed to fade in the later rounds. “I didn’t pace myself.” explains the young heavyweight. “I fought every round like it was the last round. I can’t do that this time. I plan on slowing down picking my shots and out boxing him.”
Dennis will take is 12-2 (10) record into the main event of this Showtime ShoBox televised event in hopes of capturing the WBA-NABA Heavyweight Title and bringing it back the Quad Cities. “This win should put me up there high in the rankings.” Dennis explained about his move towards a title fight.
Miller is an undefeated power punching heavyweight who was a finalist in the New York Golden Gloves and an accomplished K-1 kickboxing champion before turning pro and putting together an impressive undefeated record. Miller has 13 knockouts in his 15 wins and Dennis has stopped 10 of his 12 opponents so this heavyweight bout looks to be a war for both fighters. Dennis simply put his plans to showcase his boxing skill and outwork Miller. “Go out and outbox the other guy and don’t get into a slugfest. We are both the same size so it should be a good even fight.”
Dennis is no stranger to tough competition. Last year he stopped undefeated Steve Vukosa and knocked out WBO Asia-Pacific Heavyweight champion Razvan Cojanu, both televised on ESPN. The Davenport southpaw has recently been a sparring partner for Golden Boy Promotions heavyweight contender Dominic Breazeale of California and looks for this fight with Miller to be his break out fight to get his foot into the heavyweight mix.
The Quad Cities have not seen a world champion since the days of Michael “Second To” Nunn and certainly have not dreamed of having a heavyweight champion from the QC, but Donovan Dennis has those dreams. “With this win I look to be knocking on the door for a shot at the title” he says. That’s a dream Donovan Dennis has had his entire boxing career and a reality the fans of the Quad Cities are looking forward to.