Johannesburg (South Africa) – Danie ‘Pitbull’ van Heerden and Tumelo ‘The Truck’ Maphutha collide in a light heavyweight bout on July 03. Both are notoriously powerful, totally unafraid, and known for all-out attack from the first until the final buzzer. In an interview given today, Van Heerden spoke about the match-up.

“I’ve seen that Tumelo hits hard,” he said. “We both have heavy hands, so we’ll get to test them properly when we step into the Hexagon.”

Brother of IBO world boxing champion Chris van Heerden, Danie has been immersed in boxing since the age of five, and is looking forward to standing with one of the most dangerous strikers on the continent.

“This is going to be a hard, stand-up war,” he said. “I don’t see it going past the second. My goal is to give the fans what they want.”

Van Heerden also has an evolved submissions game, but says he’d prefer to tackle Maphutha where he’s strongest.

“I’m different to most fighters,” he said. “I want to challenge my opponent where he’s at his best. It feels like nothing to me if I beat him where it’s easy. That feels like a hollow victory.”

“He’s making me diet, train hard, and miss out on spending time with my newborn son,” he added, “so let’s make it count.”

The holder of Africa’s fastest KO in 7 seconds, Maphutha has steamrolled men like McLellan, Kruger and Fadipe with strikes. When he and Van Heerden meet they are going to come out fast and hard, and shake the Hexagon while doing it.

EFC 31, presented by BetXchange.com, returns to the Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg, on Thursday 03 July 2014. Tickets on sale at www.computicket.com. Book your cinema ticket to all fights live and in HD at www.sterkinekor.com. Watch the entire event live, from anywhere on the globe, via online streaming at efcafrica.tv.