Former strawweight kickboxing king Jonathan Di Bella not closing the door on possible return to boxing: “It’s interesting”
Jonathan Di Bella plans to compete in more boxing matches in the future.
In 2022, Di Bella temporarily left kickboxing to pursue two boxing matches. The Canadian-Italian showcased his striking versatility in two months by winning the fights by unanimous decision and second-round knockout.
Following his boxing pursuit, Di Bella signed with ONE where he became a two-time strawweight kickboxing world champion. Earlier this year, the 28-year-old suffered his lone professional loss when Prajanchai PK Saenchai dethroned him of gold.
During an interview with Combat Sports Today, Di Bella had this to say about wanting to compete in boxing again:
"Yeah, obviously. I would like to do, I would love to do more in boxing because I only had a few fights. But sure like if there's like one day maybe I'll do it. Maybe I'll do a boxing match in the future for sure. It’s interesting."
On June 28, Prajanchai challenged Di Bella for his kickboxing world title at ONE Friday Fights 68. The Thai striker won by unanimous decision, making him a two-sport world champion due to his strawweight Muay Thai strap.
Watch Di Bella's entire interview with Combat Sports Today below:
Jonathan Di Bella focused on regaining ONE strawweight kickboxing gold
ONE Championship decided not to give Jonathan Di Bella an immediate rematch. Therefore, the Canadian-Italian will need to secure at least one win before potentially facing Prajanchai to regain ONE gold.
On Dec. 6, Di Bella will return to action during ONE Fight Night 26. The former world champion's upcoming opponent is Rui Botelho, who holds a promotional kickboxing record of 2-0 after defeating Zhang Peimian and Thongpoon PK Saenchai.
Botelho has been underestimated in kickboxing due to his lack of success in Muay Thai. Luckily for him, he can flip the narrative by defeating Di Bella and potentially earning a title shot in 2025.
ONE Fight Night 26 will take place inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The upcoming event featuring two world title fights can be seen live and for free by North American and Canadian viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.