Rohan “El Rayo” Polanco, the Dominican welterweight with championship aspirations, will kick off his 2026 campaign against Mexican puncher Christian Gomez in a ten-round battle on Saturday, Jan. 31st at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Polanco-Gomez will serve as the co-feature to the junior middleweight world title unification showdown between WBO champ Xander Zayas and WBA king Abass Baraou. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased via Ticketera.com. Polanco (17-0, 10 KOs) represented his country at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and signed with Top Rank the following year. Initially campaigning as a junior welterweight, he stopped the likes of Keith Hunter and Cesar Francis before moving to 147 pounds. His 2025 run saw victories over Fabian Maidana and Quinton Randall.
Polanco said, “I’m not coming to play on January 31st. I'm coming to send a strong message to the division. Fighting as the co-main event at Coliseo de Puerto Rico is a great opportunity that I intend to take advantage of. I represent Dominican boxing. I'm hungry, fearless, and determined to get closer to a world title opportunity.”
Gomez (23-6-1, 21 KOs), a twelve-year pro, has earned nearly all of his victories by knockout. His biggest test came in May 2022, when he went the distance in a loss to world contender Shakhram Giyasov. The 32-year-old veteran is coming off consecutive decision losses to Nicklaus Flaz and Alberto Palmetta.
The undercard will also include the junior middleweight debut of Giovani Santillan (34-1, 18 KOs), as well as the return of Dominican middleweight Euri Cedeño (13-0-1, 12 KOs), in separate ten-rounders.
Santillan, a welterweight contender, faces Courtney Pennington. The San Diego native bounced back from his May 2024 loss to Brian Norman Jr. by defeating Fredrick Lawson and Angel Beltran. The Brooklyn-born Pennington (17-11-3, 7 KOs) is a thirteen-year pro who has given stern tests to the likes of American Olympian Charles Conwell and Canadian contender Custio Clayton.
Cedeño steps up to take on Ivory Coast native Etoundi Michel William (16-2, 12 KOs). The 26-year-old signed with Top Rank in May and has won his last six via the fast route. William broke onto the scene with a victory over eventual world title challenger Jorge Garcia in January 2023, remaining undefeated until an October 2024 loss to Mexico’s Jose Miguel Borrego. He last fought in June, dropping a ten-round decision to top American contender Troy Isley. Additional undercard fights will be announced in due course.
