(Zachariah Delgado / Matchroom Boxing)
Junior middleweight Nishant Dev knows he is one of many, which is partly why it would be so meaningful for him to be the first.
Born in Karnal, India, and having fought at the 2024 Olympic Games, Dev is no stranger to representing his home country on the world stage. He is now 5-0 (3 KOs) after turning professional in January 2025. Most recently, he stopped Ally Mbukwa in December, and this Saturday he will take on Juan Carlos Guerra Jnr at The Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
Heading into his sophomore year, Dev is motivated to leave home again and train with coach Ronald Simms, fueled by the dream of becoming the first boxing world titleholder from India.
“Every country has a world champion – they have good professional boxers,” Dev told BoxingScene. “When I see my country, we have so many boxers. We have 1.4 billion people who live in India, but nobody is a world champion. I feel like I should step up and show the world that I can be a world champion.”
In Saturday’s bout, the 25-year-old southpaw Dev will face Guerra, a 30-year-old from Chicago who was stopped by prospect Art Barrera Jnr in May. But Guerra, 6-2-1 (2 KOs), also holds a solid win over Nico Ali Walsh.
In addition to facing respectable opposition for arguably the first time as a pro, Dev will be making his first eight-round fight.
“I have been in the ring for so many years; it is all about your skills and how you put the performance in the ring,” Dev said. “I am going to show my good skills in those eight rounds.”
He knows what is at stake. He hasn’t yet had the fights that could define a grander legacy, but early on, Dev is passing the eye test. Now he has to attempt to do what great future titleholders do: fend off worthy challengers looking to revive their careers, while he attempts to jump-start his own.
“It is so much pressure, it gives me the motivation,” Dev said. “It motivates me to show [the people who support me] that there is this one guy who came from India who had the potential to win a world title.”
Lucas Ketelle is the author of “Inside the Ropes of Boxing,” a guide for young fighters, a writer for BoxingScene and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Find him on X at @BigDogLukie.
2026-04-22 06:00:00
