There’s now less than two months until Anthony Joshua will stride into the ring at Madison Square Garden to take on Jarrell Miller. 

In what will be his first professional fight outside the United Kingdom, the American will provide something of a unique challenge for the Watford-native. 

And it is the very nature of that challenge that is proving to throw up a challenge for AJ, or at least in the mind of promoter Eddie Hearn. 

Weighing in for his last fight at 22 stone, the sheer size of Miller is meaning that a similar sparring partner is going to be almost impossible to find. 

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The Matchroom Sport kingpin is quoted by the Daily Express as saying: 

There is no one really that big,

It’s very difficult. I’m very hands-on in that respect, and I get involved with sparring.

We select sparring partners between [Joshua’s trainer] Rob McCracken, AJ’s training team, and AJ and me.

To find a 23st guy, who moves fast, who has fast hands, who has a great engine, who forces the pressure, is very, very difficult.

It’s impossible, to be honest, to [imitate] Jarrell Miller, in terms of weight, size, speed, feet, everything. We’re going to get as close as we can.

The June 1 bout in New York will capture the attention of the world, and is seen by many as the next step on Joshua’s journey to the top of heavyweight boxing.