Matthew Hatton will be looking for a spectacular victory when he takes on IBO welterweight champion Chris van Heerden on March 2.

Hatton takes on the South African on foreign soil and is not expecting any favours from the judges should it go to the scorecards.

It means the 31-year-old - who is not noted for his power - is hoping to take them out of the equation in what could be his last shot at the big time.

"I'll be honest, I will be worried about the judging," he said. "I've not had great experience of the IBO judges in the past - like when I fought Lovemore NDou in my own back yard.

"You've got to be a realist, there's a lot of IBO fights take place over there so I'm not expecting any favours.

"But I've got to put those thoughts to the back of my mind really and concentrate on what I've got to do in preparing for the fight, and hope I get a fair crack of the whip or try and take the judges out of the equation.

"If I see an opportunity to stop him there'll be no holding back and I'll have to go for it because that could be my best chance of winning the fight."

The fight may not have garnered much media attention in the UK just yet but Van Heerden is big news in South Africa.

"He's quite a big name over there - the press conference was in a big theatre and it was a really big affair," added Hatton.

"There's a lot of interest in the fight, they've not really had a good fighter out there and they're pinning their hopes on Chris.

"I've got to go out there and scupper their plans. To be honest, I respect Chris but it's a fight I go into very confident of winning. I think I've been in with better people."