“It would mean a lot” - Jonathan Di Bella not focused on US$50k bonus, aiming to win the world title

Jonathan Di Bella would love to lock in a $50,000 bonus, but admitted that he’d love to make history even more.

This Friday, October 21 at ONE 162, the Italian-Canadian striker will be making his ONE debut for the vacant ONE strawweight kickboxing world title at the Axiata Arena in Malaysia. His rival is Chinese phenom Zhang ‘Fighting Rooster’ Peimian, whose priority is to become the youngest kickboxing title holder at 19 years old.

In a high stakes battle over the vacant belt, Jonathan Di Bella is not letting this opportunity pass him by without a solid victory. As such, he loses nothing if he doesn’t get an extra bonus because, for him, the biggest loss is not coming home with a belt.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Di Bella said:

“It would mean a lot but I’m not looking for any bonuses in this fight. I’m just looking to win. I just want to win the belt. The belt means more to me right now. But the $50,000 is a bonus, it’s a plus.”

Watch the interview below:

Jonathan Di Bella has come a long way to get to this point of his career. Son to a former kickboxing world champion, Di Bella started training as early as two years old and fought his first match when he was 10.

Throughout the years, the 26-year-old competed around the world in kickboxing and even dabbled in a couple of boxing matches. Now, he’s more than ready to make an impact on the global stage.

Happy to be part of one of the largest combat sports platforms in the world known for treating its star athletes like VIPs, Di Bella is also grateful for the opportunity to earn more money by doing what he loves. He added:

“I appreciate Chatri [Sityodtong] did this for all the fighters in ONE. Not many organizations do this, especially in kickboxing nobody gets that much money in a bonus.”

---

Jonathan Di Bella says “kickboxing is my first love”

Jonathan Di Bella literally lives and breathes kickboxing. Following in his father’s footsteps, Di Bella knew from the moment he had his first amateur bout at age 10, he wanted to do this for the long haul.

He told MyMMAnews:

“Kickboxing is my first love. I’ve been doing it since I was two years old. As soon as I started fighting, I fell in love with it.”

Like many star athletes before him, getting to the top requires sacrificing time with family and friends. Luckily for Di Bella, his father has been with him every step of the way. Influenced by his father’s success as a former kickboxing world champion, Jonathan Di Bella hopes to bring home a ONE Championship title to add to their collection.