Jonathan Di Bella prefers to have knockouts come naturally in a fight: "I don't look for the finish"
Jonathan Di Bella doesn't plan on overly pursuing a knockout in his upcoming world title tilt.
In Oct. 2022, Di Bella made his ONE Championship debut, defeating Zhang Peimian by unanimous decision for the vacant strawweight kickboxing world title. A year later, the undefeated Canadian-Italian returned and defended his throne for the first time by securing another unanimous decision, this time against Danial Williams.
Later this week, the ONE strawweight kickboxing king will return in Friday's co-main event at ONE Friday Fights 58. Di Bella is scheduled to face arguably his toughest opponent yet, as he looks to retain his throne against ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Prajanchai.
During an interview with the South China Morning Post, Di Bella was asked about hunting for a knockout win. The 27-year-old world champion responded by saying:
"Whatever happens, man. I don't look for the finish, but if it happens, it'll happen."
ONE Friday Fights 58 will take place inside the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. Friday's event featuring two world title fights can be seen on pay-per-view via watch.onefc.com.
Watch Jonathan Di Bella's interview with SCMP below:
Prajanchai plans to take out Jonathan Di Bella for two-sport supremacy
Prajanchai was dethroned for the ONE strawweight Muay Thai world title by Joseph Lasiri in May 2022. Luckily for the Thai superstar, he bounced back with wins against Kompet and the legendary Sam-A to earn a rematch against Lasiri for ONE gold.
In Dec. 2023, Prajanchai made history by knocking out Lasiri in less than two minutes, making him a three-time ONE strawweight Muay Thai king. He now looks to further his legacy by dethroning Jonathan Di Bella for two-sport supremacy.
Prajanchai will, nonetheless, have a tough day at the office, as Di Bella holds a lifetime professional record of 12-0. Therefore, only time will tell which world-class strawweight emerges victorious from the ONE Friday Fights 58 co-main event.