Nishant eyes la olympics even as he charts pro course

Nishant eyes la olympics even as he charts pro course

New Delhi: Nishant Dev showed courage and a big heart in his Paris Olympic fight against Mexican Marco Verde. He lost the 71kg quarterfinal by a split decision but opinions were divided on who won the contest. The way Nishant matched Verde, a professional fighter, blow-for-blow in a highly entertaining duel made it clear that he has the guts and skills to fight on the professional circuit.

Within a few months, Nishant decided to go professional. Indian boxers who have turned pro haven’t actually set the stage on fire, but Nishant is determined to buck the trend. Signed up by prestigious boxing promotions—Matchroom, Nishant made his debut as an undercard to the super middleweight bout between Steve Nelson and Diego Pacheco at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on January 25.

The tall Karnal boy made an impressive start with a first-round win against Alton Wiggins in the super-welterweight category. His power-packed punches brought Wiggins down on the canvas at the end of the first round and the referee had to call a stoppage. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nishant is new to the world of professional boxing but says he is learning fast. This year, he plans to appear in five to six fights.

“The debut was a dream come true for me. I wanted to become a professional fighter and become the first Indian boxer to win major belts. I am on course to fulfil my dream now,” says Nishant,

Training in a different regime and in a new environment, Nishant is getting to know more about his body. “It’s completely different from how we prepare as amateur boxers and how they prepare themselves. The mentality is different. In the three months that I have trained with European boxers, I could feel the difference in mindset.”

“There is no time frame, you can train anytime -- even at midnight. There are small details that I am learning which will help me in giving high-level performance in the ring. For example, diet. What we eat after giving weight is important. As Indian boxers we generally have the habit of taking anything once we give our weights. There, I have to strictly go by the plans of our nutritionist but I could feel the difference in the way I feel during the bout.”

Nishant has watched his bouts against Verde several times and didn’t see any reason for his defeat. Passage to semi-finals would have secured India an Olympic medal. If anything, he felt he needed to work on his endurance.

“I think in the last round; I was a bit tired. I was still punching. I have never fought at such a high level and in such a high-pressure match against a quality boxer like him. I keep reminding myself of that bout.”

“One reason to go to pro boxing was that it will help me work on my stamina and endurance where I lack. I have speed and power. So, competing in more rounds in a bout will help me build my capacity and if I can turn on the same performance in amateur boxing, it will be great.”

LA Olympics in mind

As he came to India for a brief period, Nishant found time to watch the final of Women’s National Championship in Greater Noida. He also spoke to Boxing Federation of India president Ajay Singh and discussed his plans to come back to amateur boxing for the LA Olympics. Singh, on his part, confirmed that Nishant wants to take part in domestic competitions and selection trials for the LA Olympics.

“When I turned professional, it looked like boxing would not feature in the LA Olympics. Now since boxing is included, I will return to India and take part in competitions before the 2028 Olympics. It would be great to go back to pro boxing as an Olympic champion. I have a dream to become professional champion and win major belts. To bring such flights to India and compete in front of a home crowd is something I want to do,” says the world championships bronze medallist.

Nishant says he is happy that he is being recognised in the boxing fraternity in the US after the fight against Marco Verde, the Paris silver medallist.

Another fight where Nishant impressed was against USA’s Omari Jones, a world championships silver medallist, during the Paris Olympics qualification tournament in Italy last year. Though he lost by a 4-1 split verdict, Nishant’s stellar show didn’t go unnoticed. He later secured his Paris Olympic berth in a qualification tournament in Thailand.

“When I went to the US, I was surprised that people could identify me there. When I was sparring in clubs, they just had to be told that I fought Mexican Marco Verde and Omari Jones and they were like ‘we felt so bad, you lost’.”

Nishant still feels he was unfortunate to lose those bouts. “When I met world boxing president Boris van der Vorst after my match against Jones, we had a conversation about refereeing and judging. I told him how a boxer feels so dejected in such situations.”