Prajanchai showers Jonathan Di Bella with high praise: "He's the king of kickboxing"
At ONE Friday Fights 58, Prajanchai is looking to challenge himself by stepping into somewhat new territory.
The strawweight Muay Thai world champion has proven himself to be the clear best in his own division.
Avenging his shock defeat to Joseph Lasiri in December showed who the one true king in the division was and with that, left the champion in need of something fresh to pursue.
On April 5, he will try to leave Lumpinee Stadium as a two-sport world champion when he faces strawweight kickboxing world champion Jonathan Di Bella.
Many have marked the defending champion as the underdog in this fight due to the vast experience that Prajanchai brings to the table.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Prajanchai said that this isn't the way he sees the fight due to the specific experience that Di Bella brings to the table as an undefeated kickboxer:
"The fact that he said he is the underdog, I don't think so. I disagree with that. He's been competing in kickboxing for several fights and I feel like he's the king of kickboxing. I feel like I'm the underdog. I'm not familiar with the rules like him, and he hasn't even been defeated in ONE Championship. So I don't think he's the underdog, I'm the underdog."
Watch the full interview below:
Prajanchai claims he is the underdog but others aren't so sure
Prajanchai is right in what he says about the kickboxing experience edge that Jonathan Di Bella might have in this fight.
However, the reason that many have marked the challenger as the favorite in this champion vs champion match-up is the names that are on his record.
For all of Di Bella's technical brilliance inside the ring, he doesn't have the same kind of strength in schedule that the Thai striker does.
The challenger has a vast amount of striking experience and has faced some of the best in the world and been victorious.
Prajanchai may be stepping into kickboxing for this fight but when it comes down to who has beaten the better opponents, it's clear to see why so many are expecting to hear and new on April 5.
ONE Friday Fights 58 will air live at Asian prime time on global PPV via watch.onefc.com