A southern rivalry is about to resume.
Dunedin man Robert Dean and Invercargill's Tom Heads each know how hard the other hits.
The pair squared off in a kickboxing bout in Dunedin last year, Dean winning by decision.
Now they are set to meet in the boxing ring when they compete on the Joseph Parker undercard in Invercargill tomorrow night.
With an MMA record of 6-3, and a kickboxing record of 5-1, Dean is battle-hardened, but Heads is loaded with boxing experience after about five years as an amateur before turning professional last year.
Dean said making his debut on a Duco card ''ranked right up there'' and he was excited about facing Heads at his strength.
''I was aiming at getting into some amateur boxing this year, but this experience presented itself and I just jumped at it,'' Dean said.
''I have got a good rivalry going on with Tom and this is the hardest I have trained for one discipline in a wee while because it means so much to me.''
The 25-year-old freezing worker said Heads had ''immense power in both hands'' and he had worked hard on his footwork.
The four-round fight has a 90.7kg cruiserweight limit.
Dean weighs about 88kg and Heads will probably come in heavier.
The Team Hammerhead fighter is coming off a TKO kickboxing win in March.
He said switching disciplines was challenging, but once he laced up the boxing gloves he was ''reminded pretty quickly'' what he could throw.
Matt Toa has trained Dean since 2009.
He said while his Mosgiel Olympic Fight Centre base had been hit hard by June's floods, Dean was ready.
''We have had about 10 weeks of preparation and his hands have always been one of Bob's strong points, so it's just been a case of sharpening him up,'' Toa said.
Heads, a 29-year-old oysterman and massage therapist, is coming off a recent knockout win in kickboxing and a boxing win in December after two previous losses to Super 8 cruiserweight competitor Lance Bryant.
He said he and Dean were ''the best of mates'' but it was ''business'' in the ring.
The Invercargill/Bluff-trained Heads has been travelling to Dunedin about once a fortnight over the past few months to be trained by Steve Scott at the New Zealand Fight and Fitness Academy.
Scott said Heads would be a handful to beat for anyone.
''He is a good strong lad with a lot of natural ability and raw talent about him and, hopefully, I can guide him in the right direction for the rest of his career,'' Scott said.
