Keeler is confident of securing a world title shot against Andrade
By Stephen Leonard
LUKE Keeler believes a title fight against WBO Middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade is very much on the horizon.
The 32-year-old Ballyfermot man has risen to Number Three in that organisation following his superb victory over the highly-rated American Luis Arias on the Féile an Phobail show in Belfast in August.
Ballyfermot’s Luke Keeler is confident he could be fighting WBO Middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade in the new year.
While he will be focusing on a scheduled outing in the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on November 16 for which an opponent has yet to be confirmed, Keeler is confident he could well be facing Andrade in the US in March.
And the Irish and WBO European Middleweight champion is planning on serving up a massive shock should that opportunity arise.
“A lot of guys who go up against him [Andrade] are already beat, but I’d be going in there 100 percent to win that title” Keeler told The Echo.
“He’s a quality operator, but I know he’ll overlook me. For him, it’ll be another routine fight and I’m sure it’s hard for him to get himself up for those kind of fights.
“I know I’ll be a 10-1 underdog. It would be one of the biggest upsets in Irish boxing history, but I handle southpaws well and he’s not unbeatable” he insisted.
Even 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.
“It’s life-changing money that you’re talking about.
“I’d be going from selling tickets for a small-hall show to being really comfortable, retirement money, so it has been an amazing journey.”
At 32, Keeler is still only a year older than Andrade, but has fought eight times less although that is something he feels could work to his advantage.
“I’m getting better with every fight I have so I don’t even think about age. I don’t have that mileage on the clock that other boxers have and I really think t
