It doesn’t matter if Bob Arum considers you a friend. It also doesn’t matter if you’re signed to his promotional company Top Rank. He’s a fan of telling the truth as he sees it, no matter how harsh it might be.
Rohan Polanco is a part of Arum’s stable. The 26-year-old doesn’t take it for granted, either. Every chance he gets, like at Hulu Theater in New York’s Madison Square Garden this past weekend, he does his best to shine.
Quinton Randall, his latest victim,
had no answers as Polanco cruised to the finish line. Arum, like always, sat in his ringside seat and watched the Dominican native closely. After witnessing him dismantle Randall, and practically everyone else, the longtime promoter concluded that Polanco is a special talent.
“I really think he can become, in the next year or two, a big superstar in the sport,” Arum told Broadway Joel, who calls himself the Voice of Dominican Boxing, on his YouTube channel in an interview.
Ranked as the No. 4 welterweight according to The Ring, Polanco (17-0, 10 KOs) desperately wants a title shot.
Arum knows how to move a fighter, from the level of opposition they should be facing to when it’s right to take things up a notch. Polanco, though, has shocked him a bit.
Being highly ranked and a trash-talker is a deadly combination, but
Polanco has managed to back up every word. As long as he continues to dominate, Arum will have no problem throwing him to the wolves.
“He surprised everyone by how quickly he’s developing,” Arum said. “Right now, he looks to be one of the most dangerous fighters in boxing because he’s a good boxer and can destroy his opponents.”