Jonathan Di Bella was quite literally born to fight, and he plans to put on another masterclass at ONE Friday Fights 58: Superbon vs. Grigorian II. The ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion defends his belt against newly minted strawweight Muay Thai king Prajanchai PK Saenchai in the April 5 co-headliner. The clash of elite strikers goes down at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
Di Bella learned kickboxing under his father and former world champion, Angelo Di Bella, for as long as he could walk. In a recent interview with ONE Championship, the Canadian-Italian star opened up on his life following in his dad’s footsteps.
“He’s been my trainer, my only trainer, since I was a little kid, since I was 2 years old. So yeah, we know each other very well, and we work well together,” he said. “You know, sometimes, obviously, we butt heads. But that’s just father and son at the gym. But we never argue. I always listen to him, whatever he says. Our relationship is great, especially now that I’m still fighting. I still live in his house, so he’s very strict on me.”
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It’s a rare setup for an elite fighter, but it’s not all work and no play for ONE’s strawweight kickboxing king.
Jonathan Di Bella Reveals His Secret to a successful training partnership with his father
Ahead of his next fight against Prajanchai PK Saenchai, Jonathan Di Bella has revealed the key to maintaining a loving relationship with his father amid the rigors of training together. In the same interview, the 27-year-old said that the secret is achieving balance during time away.
“The challenge is a lot of repetition and always being together. Sometimes, it’s too much, so that’s why I have other things to do and sometimes get out of the house and separate. You know, you have other things to do other than fighting, other than work, and other than staying together. So it’s good to separate a bit sometimes,” he said. “Every day is the same thing, same thing, same thing. So sometimes, you need a break.”
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Whatever Team Di Bella Kickboxing are doing, it appears to be working. Di Bella remains undefeated in his professional career and has been near-flawless in ONE so far, with wins over elite strawweight strikers Zhang Peimian and Danial Williams.