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Right before he started competing in ONE Championship last year, kickboxer Jonathan Di Bella began his professional boxing journey and chalked up early success. He admitted, however, that he had to make adjustments, including exercising restraint in throwing kicks.
The Team Di Bella Kickboxing standout was signed to a contract to showcase his boxing skills in the pro circuit in Canada in the middle of 2022. He had his first two matches, both four-rounders against Mexican boxers, in June and July, which he both won convincingly.
He first beat Brian Lopez Salinas by unanimous decision then followed it up with a second-round knockout win over Jesus Omar Chavez Velazquez.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, Jonathan Di Bella shared what his transition from kickboxing to pro boxing was like.
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He said:
“Yeah, that was hard. Yes, it's hard. I got used to it though because I've been sparring with pro boxers, like world champions as well, so I'm used to doing the boxing sparring. It was weird at first and then I got comfortable.”
Watch the interview below:
Jonathan Di Bella, however, had to set aside his pro boxing career late last year as he signed with ONE, where he saw his kickboxing career soar to great heights at the onset after winning the inaugural ONE strawweight kickboxing world title in October.
He survived Chinese phenom Zhang Peimian in five explosive rounds to win by unanimous decision.
Jonathan Di Bella successfully defends world kickboxing title
It took nearly a year before Jonathan Di Bella saw action again in the promotion but he still made it eventful by successfully defending his ONE strawweight kickboxing world title.
The 27-year-old Canadian-Italian champion defeated Australian challenger Danial Williams in the co-headlining match at ONE Fight Night 15 on Prime Video on October 6 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Di Bella displayed his go-getting mindset anew throughout the five-round clash, staying ahead of Williams on his way to maintaining his top dog standing in his division.
He is now waiting for his next fight but made it known that among he is looking forward to taking on is Japanese kickboxing superstar Takeru Segawa, who is set to make his ONE debut in January.
