‘Those Guys Don’t Give Up’ – Jonathan Di Bella Finds New Inspiration In New York Knicks’ Historic NBA Title Run
The New York Knicks have ended 53 years of agonizing heartbreak, and nobody is celebrating louder than lifelong fan Jonathan Di Bella.
Now, just a week removed from that victory in the NBA Finals, the reigning ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion will carry the entire city’s euphoria into his next World Title defense.
The Italian-Canadian ace will defend his coveted belt against “Fighting Rooster” Zhang Peimian in a long-awaited rematch at The Inner Circle 22 on Friday, July 17. That event airs exclusively on live.onefc.com from Bangkok’s iconic Lumpinee Stadium, and Di Bella hopes to follow in the winning tradition set by his favorite team.
Revered as the “Mecca of Basketball,” New York holds a special place in Di Bella’s heart. He splits his time training between Montreal and the Big Apple, with Madison Square Garden sitting at the very core of that bond. Before his ONE Championship career, he competed inside the same hallowed building the Knicks and their devoted faithful call home.
For a franchise synonymous with basketball greatness, the 53-year drought had been genuinely painful. Those dark decades felt like an eternity, as fans watched the team bounce between mediocrity and near-misses. That all changed when the Knicks conquered the San Antonio Spurs in a thrilling best-of-seven series, 4-1, reclaiming their place at the top of the basketball world.
The hoop-crazy metropolis has not stopped celebrating since. Just two days ago, an estimated two million ecstatic fans poured into the legendary Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan, turning the city into one giant block party.
Di Bella was left in awe of it all. He told onefc.com:
“The Knicks winning is crazy. The whole city has been waiting for 53 years. It’s insane. [Me and my fiancée] have been to a few games this year at the Garden, and it’s a different energy. This year, the whole city and fan base has been different. We were close last year, but this year, we pushed the energy. You could feel it in the arena. The energy was on fire.”
The team’s remarkable transformation rests squarely on the shoulders of its talismanic leader Jalen Brunson, who has earned Di Bella’s admiration. Routinely counted out and deemed too small to be a genuine superstar, the undersized guard answered every doubter with a magnificent playoff run and was named the NBA Finals MVP.
That defiant spirit resonates deeply with the ONE Strawweight Kickboxing World Champion’s own ethos. The striking virtuoso knows the cost of adversity firsthand, having lost his undefeated record and his belt before working his way back to become the division’s undisputed king.
Brunson and Di Bella share the same DNA. Both simply put their heads down, do the work away from prying eyes, and let their skills and success do all the talking.
The 29-year-old said:
“Since he joined the Knicks, he’s been my favorite player. I was watching him when he played for the Dallas Mavericks, but as soon as he came to New York, I was like, ‘This guy is gonna change [the culture].’ He connected with the Knicks better than, obviously, when he was with Dallas.
“The Knicks is his home, for sure, and he made them get to this point. Since he has been here, the Knicks have made the playoffs every year. His style of play, he just doesn’t give up. He finds a way to win all the time. That’s my main thing: he finds a way.”
Di Bella was fortunate enough to witness several regular-season games live at MSG alongside his fiancée, sensing early that something special was brewing.
By the time the playoffs arrived, that belief cut across every corner of New York. From A-list stars sitting courtside on “Celebrity Row” to everyday working-class fans in the bleachers, all of them felt it together.
For Di Bella, that shared joy made it all the more meaningful.
He recalled:
“My favorite part of the series has to be when OG [Anunoby] tipped the ball in at the end of game four. That was it. We won right there.
“Jerry Seinfeld was there. Even Larry David couldn’t believe it. He put it as number one in his all-time New York sports moments.”
The Knicks’ Championship Heart Beats In Di Bella
For all his calm and composure inside the ring, Jonathan Di Bella was on the edge of his seat throughout the Knicks-Spurs series. Every game went down to the wire, decided by razor-thin margins and heroic clutch plays.
Game 4 left him breathless, as the Knicks clawed back from a staggering 29-point deficit to complete the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. It was the perfect embodiment of New York itself. Gritty, resilient, and utterly relentless – just like the city it represents.
Di Bella offered:
“It’s like every game, they were down by 20. And then, they came back in the fourth quarter.
“Those guys don’t give up. They didn’t give up the entire series. They were down like every game, and who’s not inspired by that? I don’t know anybody who is not inspired by that. The whole city was on fire. I’m glad I got to be a part of it.”
More than basketball, the series had the soul of a prizefight. The momentum swings, the refusal to fold, and the relentless pursuit of victory all spoke directly to what Di Bella has lived through in his career.
When he runs it back with Zhang Peimian on July 17, he takes that never-say-die spirit with him, fully intent on upholding New York’s newly restored championship standard and returning home with his belt.
He concluded:
“It motivates me, 100 percent. You’re in a championship fight, and you’re down four rounds. In the fourth round, you’re losing 4-0, and then in the fifth, you come back. You just come back and get a knockout. It’s the most insane thing.”
