Nishant Dev, a boxer, will make his professional debut
Nishant Dev, the boxer who won a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships and competed in the Olympics in Paris, has made the decision to become a professional. The 24-year-old has joined promoter Matchroom Boxing and will make his debut on January 25 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas as an undercard to Steve Nelson vs. Diego Pacheco's super middleweight fight.
"My goal is to become India's first-ever world professional boxing champion and I know I have a whole nation behind me to help me achieve this," Dev wrote on Instagram after losing his close 71kg quarterfinal match against the seasoned Marco Alonso Verde Alvarez of Mexico at the Paris Olympics.
Ronald Simms, a former professional boxer, is training the two-time national champion in Las Vegas. The opponent for Dev's first professional fight has not yet been revealed.
Indian boxers have long been entering the professional ranks, but it is rather unexpected that Dev, who hasn't yet established himself by winning a significant fight, has taken this step. Mandeep Jangra, Neeraj Goyat, and Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh followed that path.
