Jonathan Di Bella says he was heavily influenced by boxing greats Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones Jr, and Floyd Mayweather

Kickboxing superstar Jonathan Di Bella says his love for boxing was heavily influenced by some of the most high-profile boxing fighters from an earlier era.

Di Bella is undoubtedly one of the best kickboxers the world has seen. Truly gifted in the striking arts, the Montreal native has a unique fighting style that incorporates multiple techniques from the boxing realm. Some of those include a combination of fast head movements, good hand speed, and power.

As Di Bella gears for a strawweight kickboxing world title clash against ONE strawweight Muay Thai world champion Prajanchai at ONE Friday Fights 68, he explains the root cause for his love of boxing.

Speaking to Calf Kick Sports, he said:

"My dad did make me watch a lot of boxing, Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones, Mayweather. I used to watch that era a lot. He used to make me watch boxing since I was born almost."

Watch ONE Friday Fights 68 live from inside the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 28 via ONE FC's free app and/or YouTube channel.

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"Beating a name like him, it means a lot" - Jonathan Di Bella knows the prestige he'll acquire in defeating fellow champion Prajanchai at OFF68

Jonathan Di Bella is in for a whirlwind of violence when he meets Thai living legend Prajanchai for the vacant strawweight kickboxing strap this month.

The renowned Thai striker has had an intimidating number of career victories in Muay Thai and kickboxing. Sitting well above 300, Prajanchai is as great as they come. Just recently, he entered his second world title reign after avenging his only loss to former strawweight Muay Thai world titleholder Joseph Lasiri in December.

Beating Prajanchai in front of a hostile Thai crowd at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium for the belt will be historic if Jonathan Di Bella can outclass the kickboxing master.

"Beating a name like him, it means a lot. It means a lot for me, " di Bella told ONE. "And it means a lot for all the viewers because if I beat another champion, it's very important for my name and recognition."