It will be all business when he steps into the ring, but Luke Keeler couldn’t help but laugh at the appearance of his upcoming opponent.

The streaking contender from Ireland is a considerable longshot to upend Demetrius Andrade in their middleweight title fight this Thursday at Meridian at Island Gardens in Miami, Florida. A reminder of that came in the form of the slogan on the defending titlist’s attire, as the Providence-bred boxer boasted a black T-shirt which read ‘Luke, I Am Your Father.’

The phrase originated in The Empire Strikes Back—the second release from the famous Star Wars series—but was meant as an obvious dig at Keeler (17-2-1, 5KOs), with many believing the DAZN-streamed main event to be the least competitive bout of the night. The evening’s challenger certainly doesn’t lend the claim any credence, although it hasn’t stopped him from using it as motivation.

"Some people are looking at this as an easy touch for Andrade. But I’m on a different level, even since the last fight,” noted Keeler, who makes his stateside debut along with entering his first career title fight. “Andrade, he stepped up to middle and he hasn’t been performing. He labeled himself the greatest, but… I’m in me prime. I’m just coming into my own. I’m 32, fresh.”

The 32-year old Dubliner comes in riding an eight-fight unbeaten streak since suffering the second of two losses to Tom Doran. His latest win came in August, scoring a convincing 10-round win over Milwaukee’s Luis Arias and shortly after setting his sights on a middleweight title.

Andrade (28-0, 17KOs) will attempt the third defense of the belt he claimed in a 12-round win over previously unbeaten Walter Kautondokwa in October 2018. Lopsided victories over Artur Akavov and Maciej Sulecki established the southpaw’s dominance, perhaps even more so than his two-tour title stay at junior middleweight. On the surface, the 11-year pro—who served on the 2008 U.S. Olympic boxing team which competed in Beijing—hasn’t lost a step, but his upcoming challenger certainly sees something that he can exploit on fight night.

“I think these long [11] years as a pro for Andrade has really slowed him down,” believes Keeler. “He’s not entertaining. He’s not beating me, it’s not happening.

“That little milling around is not going to work on Thursday night. I’m going to take the belt home to Ireland. I’m going to pull off this upset.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox