IRELAND’S LUKE KEELER (17-2-1, 5 KOs) will face Demetruis Andrade (28-0, 17 KOs) for the WBO world middleweight title on 30 January at Island Gardens in Miami, it has been confirmed.
The long-rumoured fight, which will be shown live on Sky Sports in Ireland and Britain as well as on DAZN in the US, is reward for the 32-year-old Dubliner following an impressive victory against top contender Luis Arias in August.
A win would see Keeler emulate Irish greats Steve Collins and Andy Lee in securing the WBO world middleweight belt.
“Demetrius is a great fighter and I understand I’ll be written off as a huge underdog but it’s exactly how I like it, there isn’t a drop of pressure on me,” Keeler said. “It feels surreal in a way but at the same time, I’ve always visualised it so in a way I expected this opportunity to come. Again, there is no pressure on me at all. I’ll have nerves like every fight but I’m going to enjoy every moment, bounce to the ring and pull off the upset.
“It’s a life-changing fight and winning brings life-changing paydays but I would’ve taken this fight for free to be in the position that comes with winning. It puts me right up there for fights with Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.”
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring again finally! It’s a great opportunity to show the world my talents and to be part of Super Bowl weekend in Miami is incredible,” added Andrade. “Miami is a beautiful city and I’m looking to once again showing that I’m the best 160-pound fighter in the world. It’s me again!
“There are major fights for me in the Middleweight division. Those are the fights I want and I’ve been very vocal about it. At the end of the day, I just need to keep winning. They can’t avoid me forever. On January 30, we have to take care of business against Luke Keeler. He’s tough and he’s coming to fight, which will make for a great night of action for the fans in Miami and everyone else watching around the world on DAZN.”
The card will also see Tevin Farmer (30-4-1, 6 KOs) defending his IBF world super featherweight title against JoJo Diaz (30-1, 15 KOs) and unified world super bantamweight champion Daniel Roman (27-2-1, 10 KOs) taking on Murodjon Akhmadaliev (7-0, 6 KOs).
Info on tickets for the event can be found here.
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