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Keeler not afraid of ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade – ready to register ‘biggest upset in Irish boxing history’

Luke Keeler [17(5)-2(1)-1] is ready to register the biggest upset in Irish boxing history by beating WBO Middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade [28(17)-0] in March.

The Ballyfermot 160lbs fighter has been linked to a possible world title shot since he impressively out pointed Luis Arias in Belfast in August.

Talk of a top end tilt increased when the 32-year-old was bumped up to #3 in the WBO rankings and the fighter himself has gone on record stating he expects to challenge for a world title in March.

Keeler has revealed a deal is close to being done and once he gets a scheduled outing in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on November 16 out of the way he will start focusing on a championship fight.

Andrade is the Patrickā€™s weekend target and if it does as expected get over the line ā€˜Cool Handā€™ is confident of securing victory in the speculated bout.

Indeed, the Pete Taylor trained fighter believes he can cause the greatest upset in Irish boxing history by defeating Matchroom’s two weight world champiom.

“A lot of guys who go up against him [Andrade] are already beat, but Iā€™d be going in there 100 percent to win that titleā€ Keeler told The Echo.

Andrade is a member of the ‘who needs him club’. ‘Boo Boo’ is a skills operator, that has the ability to outclass if not dominate opponents and although he brings world honours to the table he isn’t quite the name in a division that can boast Gennady Golovkin, Saul Canelo Alvarez et all.

However, for Irish champion Keeler he represents the best chance to become a world champion in the current climate – and while the Ballyfermot fight may not initially worry the American, Keeler is adamant he has what it takes to win at world level.

ā€œHeā€™s a quality operator, but I know heā€™ll overlook me. For him, itā€™ll be another routine fight and Iā€™m sure itā€™s hard for him to get himself up for those kind of fights. I know Iā€™ll be a 10-1 underdog. It would be one of the biggest upsets in Irish boxing history, but I handle southpaws well and heā€™s not unbeatable.”

The fact that Keeler is being talked about for such a major fight shows how far he has come since he committed to professional boxing full-time and the rapid rise hasn’t gone unnoticed by the former full time engineer.

ā€œItā€™s life-changing money that youā€™re talking about,” he says using purse to sum up the transformation.

ā€œIā€™d be going from selling tickets for a small-hall show to being really comfortable, retirement money, so it has been an amazing journey.ā€

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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