T he impressive progress of Karnal-resident Nishant Dev into the professional scene hit another significant peak on July 25, after the left-hander went to another level to secure a first-round demolition of Peru's Cesar Diaz at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia on the undercard of 'Joshua vs Prenga: The Comeback'. Given the brightest spotlight on his career so far -- on Anthony Joshua's comeback card -- it was imperative Dev grabbed his opportunities, and it’s safe to say the twenty-three-year-old did not disappoint.
Fighting out of Woodland, Calif., under coach Ronald Simms, Dev (10-3) took over immediately upon the start of the main card. The Indian, a lefty, began snapping his jab right away while Diaz (32-11-1) plodded forward in hopes of working the inside.
Within seconds Dev’s power became evident as hard shots to Diaz’s body began to take their toll, and in the waning moments of the round, a combination of blows to Diaz put the Peruvian on the canvas.
Diaz rose before being counted, but the assault from Dev wasn’t to be halted, as a quick left uppercut followed that dumped Diaz on his back yet again. Remarkably, Diaz managed to once more find his feet, but he would be pummeled into oblivion after Dev finished the display with yet another series that would send him crashing for the final time.
Unable to make the round safe, Dev secured a first-round technical knockout result in front of the Jeddah fans.
Maintaining an Unblemished Record And the win boosted Dev’s pro mark to 7-0 and five of those were within the limit when he delivered a knockout for some sort of eye-popping knockout percentage for a young pro in his first 18 months of pro boxing. He came up steadily from his Jan 2025 professional debut, where he started off on the right note, knocking out Alton Wiggins in the opening stanza.
He subsequently had wins over Josue Silva at the famed Madison Square Garden on Aug. 31, and over LaQuan Evans, Juan Carlos Campos Medina, Ally Mbukwa in Accra, and Juan Carlos Guerra Jr.
In Las Vegas, prior to this impressive TKO of Diaz who was 10-2 entering the match.
Dev is 7-0 while he has 5KOS. Diaz drops to 10-3, with 5 of those via KO. But the night was owned by Dev who sent him to the canvas with a single well-timed punch, as it was a stacked card in Vegas.
Dev's ambition was clear when he spoke to DAZN after his win. 'Every time that I am learning something, I am learning something that helps me increase that in every fight.
There is not one Indian boxer from India that is a world champion, I am going to shut their mouths for sure now.
I am going to become a world champion'. A great goal but not something which is out of his reach with how his career is proceeding. Regular fights, ending fights quickly, sharing a card with Anthony Joshua a heavyweight superstar, this is the recipe for a career built up on aggression and precision for a world title charge in the super welterweight division.
No confirmation yet has been received of his next opponent, but every fight is making this declaration of becoming India's first male world boxing champion harder to ignore.
Photo: @nishantboxer_jr
