Former world champion-turned-analyst Timothy Bradley waxed lyrical with superlatives to describe the concussive finishing sequence as it replayed, midway through Round 2, with Rohan Polanco making easy work of 22-1 pro Jean Carlos Torres.

Keyshawn Davis dismantled Denys Berinchyk to finish their Valentine's Day bill with a flourish, clinching the WBO world lightweight title, though noise was being made two divisions above on the undercard.

"Nasty right hand down the middle, this is Naoya Inoue-type right there, look at the balance he has, not over his front leg … good leverage on that shot, putting combinations together, you see the legs [of Torres] right there? It feels like you’ve got an earthquake in your body and mind."

Almost three months later, the 26-year-old Dominican (15-0, 10 KOs) is back after his third consecutive stoppage win and faces a career-best challenge in Fabian Andres Maidana (24-3, 18 KOs) in his third contest scheduled for 10 rounds.

Almost prophetically, he’ll feature on an undercard with Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) during a busy boxing weekend as the undisputed super-bantamweight king defends his 122-pound titles against Ramon Cardenas (26-1, 14 KOs) on a much-anticipated stateside return for the Japanese star.

Maidana enters this on a two-fight finishing streak in his native Argentina, a year removed from his unsuccessful attempt at then-interim WBC world welterweight honours against Mario Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs).

The 32-year-old was dropped in Round 3 and lost 116-111 across all three scorecards on an undercard headlined by unified super-middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. He posted a wide points win over Jaime Munguia.

Now aligned with the same trainer in Eddy Reynoso, both box with bigger prospective bouts dangling in the Saudi capital of Riyadh this weekend as contrasting divisional bouts await.

Polanco, a 2020 Olympian with a distinguished amateur pedigree, initially entered the paid ranks at welterweight but the aim was to be a multi-weight world titleholder, something Canelo and Inoue have mastered during their prime years.

"Our whole mission was to capture a title at 140, then 147, then 154. That was our vision," Polanco’s head trainer, Hector Bermudez, told The Ring.

WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman’s proposed first title defence against Derrieck Cuevas, originally set for Nov. 8, was shelved after he re-injured his left hand in sparring and required a second surgery.

Polanco scored two knockdowns and won every minute before a sixth-round stoppage win over Argentina’s 37-4 pro Marcelino Nicolas Lopez on Sept. 27, unaware that a golden opportunity could’ve been heading his way.

"We were supposed to fight Derrieck and the winner would then go onto face Norman. We said, 'Hell yeah let’s go,' but now? He’s not going to fight us. I understand it. That’s the business of boxing," Bermudez chuckles.

Bermudez remembers being sounded out about Polanco-Cuevas for the WBO interim title at the weigh-ins before that Sept. 27 show in New York, Top Rank officials by this stage aware Norman wouldn’t return until the first quarter of 2025, though nothing materialised.

The following week, Norman’s injury was made public and the potential fight quickly forgotten in the midst of an undisputed light-heavyweight title fight and other subplots unfolding in Saudi Arabia.

Norman needed three rounds to dismiss Cuevas on March 29 and will look to make up for lost time, facing WBO No. 1 contender Jin Sasaki (19-1-1, 17 KOs) in Tokyo on June 19.

Such is life. Polanco, who lives with Bermudez out in Springfield, Massachusetts, hasn’t let the sport's politics stop him from making incremental improvements, producing statement displays and well-connected people are taking notice.

Decade-long pro Maidana might have three losses, but he has only been dropped once and never stopped. His winding career path has taken him across the Americas as a pro, from Gervonta Davis undercards to away assignments in Mexico and Colombia.

Although his resume doesn’t feature many noteworthy names, a successful amateur stint featuring World Youth and Youth Olympic experience in Baku and Singapore prove he’s no pushover.

Absorbing Polanco’s best and still moving forward is another task. When asked about where he attributes his knockout power from and how he’s learning, the Top Rank-backed contender points back to the source.

“I'm controlling the tempo of fights better, more composed under fire, can stay in the pocket and see everything when [opponents] are punching at me, which betters my defence.

"Working hard in the gym, listening to what my trainer shows me - staying on both feet while punching. We’ve worked on some key things, had high-quality sparring and film studied some of the errors Maidana makes, so will look to capitalise.”

Bermudez echoes the sentiment.

"He hasn’t shown a lot, not his complete abilities - he does that in the gym. What gets a guy to the next level is usually his ability to work in different directions with the lead hand and how they go to the body," he said. "They don’t really box that way in the amateurs. His jab, staying patient in setting everything up, it’s been working for him and he’s getting better as time goes on.

"The trajectory he’s on, I’ve noticed that he’s really mean. A really nice person outside the ring and always helpful, but when he steps in the ring it just comes natural."

This represents a fifth fight in 14 months for Polanco. While activity is key - he ambitiously wants three more fights in 2025 - time between dedicated training camps will increase the closer he gets to a vaunted mandatory position for world honours.

Ranked No. 10 with the WBO and the WBC’s No.15 contender at 147 pounds, there’s still work to do and boxes to tick. He hasn’t gone past eight rounds as a pro, nor been hurt or thrown into deep waters just yet.

"I'm just looking for experience, to keep getting better," he said when asked about the opposition selection this time around.

Behind the scenes, the 26-year-old is being put through his paces in sparring against bigger competitors.

WBA’s No. 1-ranked middleweight contender Yoenli Hernandez (7-0, 7 KOs) has featured prominently this time around and there’s a desire for him to get "beat up" in a controlled environment so he’ll navigate those waters swimmingly when tougher challenges beckon.

First things first. It’s time for ‘El Rayo’ to embrace his mean side again this weekend.