At 8pm on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, Crumlin middleweight 'Cool Hand' Luke Keeler will be seeking a mini-redemption in his rematch with undefeated Welshman 'Dazzlin' Tom Doran.
Just a couple of months after his Celtic Warrior stablemate Jono Carroll upset the apple cart and claimed the £32,000 kitty in London, Luke Keeler entered Prizefighter: The Middleweights at Blackpool as the bookies' favourite.
After breaking his hand while beating Luke Crowcroft over the three-round distance, the former Crumlin Boxing Club man bowed out in the semi-finals with a one-sided defeat to Tom Doran; one-sided if only in the sense that the amicable 'Cool Hand' could only truly use one of his hands as he dropped a decision to his Welsh adversary.
Despite this upset defeat, Keeler presumably used his good hand to sign on Eddie Hearn's dotted line, joining Matchroom's ever-growing promotional stable just a couple of weeks later. On Saturday night, the man we ranked as one of Ireland's top boxing prospects last year gets what in boxing terms is an almost immediate shot at redemption, as he takes on Doran with both hands intact.
At this juncture in his career, Keeler is the ideal candidate to open a televised bill; those who tune in to Sky Sports One at 8pm tomorrow should be in for a treat when the smiley Dub trades blows with his 16-0 opponent (6 KOs), with both men seeking to make the step-up to the next level.
Keeler (10-1, 5 KOs) has previously shown he can bang a bit, and Saturday's scrap with the smooth Doran could produce the perfect amalgamation of pugilistic styles.
The winner, says Eddie Hearn, will progress to the fringes of world-level, with the loser staying where they are. That would give the impression that neither man has much to lose. This couldn't be further from the truth; Keeler, "disgusted" with his sole career defeat, will seek to avenge with everything in his arsenal.
A win for the Pascal Collins-trained 28-year-old will see a new star born into Ireland's bustling middleweight division, which has seen long-standing representatives Matthew Macklin (who takes on Brian Rose next weekend) and Andy Lee joined by names such as Jason Quigley, Spike O'Sullivan, Eamonn O'Kane, Conrad Cummings and Alfredo Meli in the past 12 months.
Naturally, the dynamic of the pair's 10-round rematch is unrecognisable to that of a Prizefighter-style format of three rounds; lose the opening round of a Prizefighter contest and you're pissing into the wind for the following two, but in a longer contest Keeler will be far from panicked if he drops a couple of the earlier stanzas.
Doran opens as a betting favourite but Saturday night presents the explosive Keeler with the perfect opportunity to exorcise a few early-career demons, and to establish himself as a middleweight player in both Ireland and the UK.
He certainly has the personality to become a household name in Irish sport. Both he and his coach believe he also has the skills. He'll be at full compliment when he takes to the ring in Liverpool seeking revenge, which is a start, as 'Cool Hand Luke' looks to get his promising career back in full-swing.
