Indian boxer Nishant Dev continued his impressive rise in professional boxing with a dominant first-round knockout victory over Peru's Cesar Diaz on Sunday. The emphatic win extended the Indian's unbeaten professional record to 7-0 and further strengthened his reputation as one of the country's brightest boxing prospects.
The victory came on the undercard of the blockbuster Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga event.
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Nishant Dev secures dominant first-round knockout
Nishant wasted little time in asserting his dominance, knocking Cesar Diaz down three times during the opening round.
The decisive moment arrived when the Indian landed a powerful left uppercut, sending Diaz to the canvas for the third and final time, prompting the referee to stop the contest.
With the victory, Nishant maintained his perfect professional record of seven wins from seven bouts, continuing his impressive start since turning professional.
Speaking after the fight, the Indian revealed his ultimate ambition of becoming the country's first-ever professional boxing world champion.
"Every time I’m learning something new, I’m l learning things that make me better each fight. There’s not an Indian boxer from India that’s a world champion."
Nishant Dev added that he continues to learn with every fight and believes those improvements will help him achieve his long-term goal of winning a world title.
Nishant eyeing historic milestone for Indian boxing
Before making the transition to professional boxing, Nishant established himself as one of India's top amateur boxers.
He won a bronze medal in the 71kg light middleweight category at the 2023 World Championships and remained one of India's most consistent performers on the international circuit.
The 24-year-old decided to turn professional after narrowly missing out on a medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he suffered a heartbreaking quarterfinal defeat against Mexico's Marco Verde.
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Since making the switch, Nishant Dev has remained unbeaten and is steadily moving closer to his dream of creating history by becoming India's first professional boxing world champion.