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Since arriving in ONE Championship, Jonathan Di Bella has made a great impact on the promotion by proving that he is ready to compete at the highest level.
The undefeated ONE strawweight kickboxing world champion stepped into ONE as a competitor that didn't need time to work his way up the rankings or adjust to this level.
Part of that comes down to his early experiences in his career and how in his opinion, he was pushed from an early stage.
Along with his father, the early career of Di Bella was shaped by kickboxing legend and former three-time world champion Lou Neglia.
Having someone of Neglia's pedigree helping him out from an early stage was invaluable but as Di Bella told 4oz to Freedom in a recent interview, nothing came easy for him:
"It's crazy. He's the man. He started my career even in my amateurs. So he's good friends with my dad and yeah, they planned this, like they planned all my amateur fights and then they slowly brought me to the pro. Then, I had my pro debut. I fought tough fighters on his show and he didn't bring me any easy opponents. So he made me get good experience and yeah, he's the best."
Watch the full interview below:
That experience certainly paid off for Jonathan Di Bella
Being pushed that hard and put through the ringer by an experience veteran of the game has molded Jonathan Di Bella into the competitor you now see today.
It's why you see him step into ONE Championship and already look like an experienced operator inside the circle because he has been battle tested on his way up the kickboxing ladder.
These early trials will be absolutely crucial when coming up against a fellow world champion in his next bout.
At ONE Friday Fights 58, Di Bella will look to defend his strawweight kickboxing crown against the Muay Thai king of the same weight class, Prajanchai.
ONE Friday Fights 58 will air live in Asia primetime on April 5 from the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand. The entire card will be available on the ONE Championship YouTube channel and the ONE Super App.
