Hearn on Miller: F*** off! He was saying it was sabotage, people lie every day

Eddie Hearn has every right to be upset with Jarrell Miller.

Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs), 30, failed three drug tests in less than a week. On Tuesday, he tested positive for the banned substance GW1516 (Endurobol), a result of a random urine test conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) on March 20. The New York State Athletic Commission refused to issue Miller a boxing license, which cost him a shot at unified titleholder Anthony Joshua on June 1 at Madison Square Garden. Then, on Friday, Miller scored a hat trick by failing two additional tests for a total of three banned substances.

The results from a blood sample collected from Miller by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association on March 31 were positive for human growth hormone (HGH), and a separate sample also received on the same day returned positive results for EPO, which increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood, and Endurobol (again).

Initially, Miller denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs, but after two more drug tests came back positive for different banned substances, the Brooklyn native changed course.

"I messed up. I messed up; I made a bad call. A lot of ways to handle a situation, I handled it wrongly. And I’m paying the price for it. Missed out on is a big opportunity, and I’m hurtin’ on the inside. My heart is bleeding right now. I hurt my family, my friends, my team, my supporters. But I’m gonna own up to it. I’m gonna deal with it, I’ma correct it, and I’m gonna come back better. I’m humbled by the experience; I understand how to handle certain things. I’m gonna leave it at that. I love you guys, and I appreciate you guys out there, and as fighters, we go through a lot, I don’t wanna make it a bad name for ourselves. It’s time to do right, and get right. So I thank you guys.”

Unlike some who are giving Miller credit for "owning up" to his mistake, Hearn is having none of it.

"This is one of the reasons I’m so enraged. I wanted to believe him. I’ve spent time with Jarrell Miller; I like the guy. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt," Hearn told IFL TV.

"And when he text me the other day 'I swear I’ve never taken anything, this is bullsh*t,' I was going to reply. But I thought: 'You know what, I’m not going to say anything because I actually want to believe you.'

"This comes out, and I thought: 'Fool me once, never fool me twice.' Because that is how I feel; he was saying it was sabotage, 'I swear on kids’ lives' - f*** off. People lie every day. But to do that in a fight - this is a fight! It’s dangerous enough as it is."