Jonathan Di Bella has never lost a fight in his professional career, so having to give up a World Title outside the ring stung him particularly hard.

The Italian-Canadian striker has a chance to reclaim the vacant ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Title when he faces strawweight Muay Thai king Prajanchai PK Saenchai in the main event of ONE Friday Fights 68 at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, June 28, and he’s been recounting how he lost it in the first place.

Jonathan Di Bella’s illness leads to fight cancellation and title loss

Jonathan Di Bella was scheduled to take on Prajanchai at ONE Friday Fights 58 last April, but the match ultimately fell through after Di Bella fell ill and decided to pull out. In an interview with ONE, the 27-year-old discussed the severity of the situation that led to his unfortunate decision.

“I went to do the faceoff because I was hoping that the fight was still going on. I was going to the hospital, and I thought maybe they could give me something to make me feel better. I remember facing off, and I was holding in my puke. I was about to throw up on him. I’m like, ‘Don’t throw up on him. This thing’s going viral if I puke,’” Di Bella recalled.

He further added, “So we went to the hospital, I threw up, they put me back on the bed, they put IVs in me, and I woke up in my hotel room the next day. I don’t remember what happened. I was still not feeling well. But then I started realizing I had lost my belt, and I couldn’t believe this had happened. As soon as I found out, it was heartbreaking.”

After failing the weight and hydration tests in the lead-up to the fight, the unbeaten star was stripped of the belt that he had won and defended in his first two appearances in the ONE Championship.

Di Bella embraces the underdog role

Now that his health concerns are behind him, Di Bella is aiming to reclaim his spot atop the division. Despite not losing his belt in the ring, nor any of his 12 professional outings, he’s still approaching his upcoming fight with a chip on his shoulder.

After all, he’ll be fighting in Prajanchai’s backyard. “I have a champion’s mindset, but now I’m the underdog, so I feel even more focused. I want to win every fight, but especially now that I don’t have the belt anymore, I want to bring it back for my family. That’s my motivation,” Di Bella said.

He further added “Fighting in his hometown in front of his family, his people, I feel like it’s a Rocky vs. Drago type of story. I’m going in there with a Rocky mentality and getting my belt back.”