Safar vs Miller Jr Predictions: Kovalev’s conqueror on the cusp

World-ranked cruiserweight contender Robin Sirwan Safar takes on Derick Miller Jr on Saturday, November 8. The Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas will host the bout on the Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Erickson Lubin undercard. DAZN will air the fight live. 

Read on as I offer my Safar vs Miller Jr predictions.

Safar vs Miller Jr Odds

Safar is the favourite at 2/13. Miller is priced at 5/1 for the upset while the draw is 16/1.

Safar vs Miller Jr Fight Preview

Safar finds himself on the cusp of a potentially huge 2026. The ninth-ranked cruiserweight contender with The Ring is close to a crack at the world title. The WBO has Safar fifth in their ratings while he sits ninth in the IBF listings.

The latter is a daunting prospect. IBF champ Jai Opetaia is the lineal cruiserweight king with seven wins in world title fights. Only Mairis Briedis has taken the illustrious Aussie the distance. Safar can bang, but nobody has power like Opetaia in the cruiserweight division today.

The other option is a fight with WBO champion Gilberto Ramirez. ‘Zurdo’ also holds the WBA title, adding to the attraction for Safar. The only snag here is the fact Ramirez is currently recovering from shoulder surgery. He had been tipped for a unification clash with Opetaia as well as, at one stage, a title defence against Jake Paul. But with those two having moved on, perhaps Safar can secure a shot?

But all this is a moot point if ‘Robz’ cannot get past Miller on Saturday night. The American brings an identical 18-0 record to Safar. Miller is 35 years of age from the fighting state of Michigan. They breed them tough in ‘The Wolverine State’.

Safar does not baulk at tough, of course. The 32-year-old arrived on most people’s radars when he beat light heavyweight great Sergey Kovalev. The Swede scored a unanimous decision win over the three-time world champion last year. 

The caveats are numerous. Without wanting to urinate on anyone’s fries, this was not the same Kovalev who dominated at 175lbs, gave Andre Ward hell for two fights or made 10 successful world title defences. ‘Krusher’ had boxed once in the five years since his loss to Saul Canelo Alvarez. 

But a win is a win and a win over a legend of the sport will always propel you to something. Lest we forget, Danny Williams knocking out the remnants of Mike Tyson in 2004 secured the Londoner a crack at Vitali Klitschko’s WBC strap.

So Safar sits close to the top of several world rankings. His only fight since was a fifth-round stoppage of Texas obscurity Roberto Silva. Not something to build a world title charge on, but you’ve got to keep winning in this game. Unless you’re Ryan Garcia, who is about to receive a world title shot as a reward for a loss and a No Contest in his last two fights. But not everyone has the Instagram following of ‘KingRy’, or so they tell me.

There is always a shadow of doubt over an unbeaten foe. How far can this guy or girl really go? Miller is 35 and I feel like, if he was going, he’d have been by now. But the cruiser bruiser still fights largely in eight-rounders and Safar is by far the most accomplished boxer he will have faced.

For Safar, the mission is clear. End 2025 on a high note, ideally with a stoppage, to rubber stamp his ticket to a world title next year. I’d like to see him fight someone who is both world class and in their prime before making that final step. But this is boxing, what are you gonna do?

Safar vs Miller Jr Full Card

Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Erickson Lubin

Darius Fulghum vs David Stevens

Robin Sirwan Safar vs Derick Miller Jr

Amari Jones vs Shady Gamhour

Eric Priest vs Esneiker Correa

Figo Ramirez Gonzalez vs Oziel Rangel Aradillas

Joshua Edwards vs Zeno Vooris

Javier Meza vs Joshua Briones Garcia

Samuel Torres vs Ricardo Elizalde

Safar vs Miller Jr Prediction

What scant footage there is of Miller shows a fighter who is untidy, hits hard at a level and is easily drawn into a tear-up. His right hand is low and his guard is often a little wide. In the exchanges this can lead to him getting tagged. 

Against Safar, those stray shots that bounced off Miller against club fighters will hurt a lot more. ‘Robz’ has 13 knockouts in his 18 wins, two more than Miller. Kovalev is the main point of difference on the records, with both men mainly mixing at a fairly low level otherwise.

I fancy Safar in this one. His work is cleaner and more considered. The Swede looks a class above in all honesty. I’m taking Safar at 2/13.

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