By Kristofer Williams Sr. There is WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Abner Mares. There is also WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Guillermo Rigondeaux. So why is IBF/WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire fighting Mexican legend Jorge Arce next? In order to know the answer, one must know how the mind of a professional boxing promoter works.

In sum, it’s purely business. The first question an inquiring mind would want to know is what the job of a promoter entails. Simply put, a boxing promoter has nothing to do with managing the fight career of a boxer. Instead, he manages the business aspects of it. From covering all costs related to the promotion of an event to bringing in investors who will fund the up-front costs to market an event, the promoter handles all the logistics and planning that take place in marquee fight. In addition, the promoter is the one solely responsible for negotiating licensing fees with third parties – be it the network giants, sponsors, or the facilities involved in housing the event.

So why is Donaire fighting Arce next instead of Mares, Rigondeaux, or Emeritus WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Toshiaki Nishioka? There are many answers.

First, there is a market segmentation aspect in promoting Donaire. The Filipino Flash has proven since 2007 (the year he knocked out Vic Darchinyan) that he has paid his dues as an up and coming prizefighter. Everything he has accomplished in his career thus far has been well deserved and rightfully earned. Starting with his shocking KO of Darchinyan, Donaire conquered three more divisions and dispatched Rafael Concepcion, Wladimir Sydorenko, Fernando Montiel, Omar Narvaez, and Wifredo Vazquez Jr. His win over former IBF champ Jeffrey Mathebula unified his super bantamweight title. All in all, Donaire has been winning, and more importantly he has been climbing up the ranks and building his name brand, fan appeal, and popularity since 2007, longer than Mares, Rigondeaux, and Nishioka have done in this stage.

Furthermore, because Donaire is Filipino, Bob Arum has been careful not to enter the Pacquiao segment when it comes to Donaire. This is very smart. As a promoter, you want to ensure that Donaire build his own brand instead of following in Pacquiao’s footsteps. By doing this, Donaire carves an identity – his own. And when a fighter generates his own distinct brand and flourishes, the money will come easily. If Arum would have put Donaire on Pacquaio undercards, it would have been close to impossible to determine how much of a fan base Donaire really has with Filipinos. By allowing Donaire to highlight his own cards, Arum is better equipped to gauge Donaire’s popularity and appeal among the Filipino fan base. At this point, Arum could then forecast how much Donaire’s fights would draw against other viable opponents. This is market segmentation as it applies to boxing promotions at its finest.

This brings me to Arce. When Donaire re-upped his contract with Top Rank, he was given very distinct terms as to how much he would earn per fight. For example, Arum told Donaire he would make x-amount of dollars in fight A, then a guaranteed $750,000 on fight B, and then an increase to $1 million for fights C and D, etc etc. Last Saturday’s fight against Mathebula drew disappointing ticket sales, as evidenced by the 3,200 fans that showed up to watch The Filipino Flash. Although Donaire was guaranteed $750K, he won’t receive much of a bonus, if any, on gate receipts. But against the Mexican living legend Arce, the fight will be held at Staples Center (20,000 capacity), Arce has a huge Mexican following, Arce is distinguished and a long time champion, and Arce is still fighting strong. A Donaire-Arce clash would not only give Donaire a little more prestige when it comes to his opponent history but most importantly, it guarantees Arum the funds to cover Donaire’s expected $1 million payday and then some. This is the power of a proven name brand in boxing. If you have a household name, the fans will come.

Why not Mares? First things first, Mares has not paid his dues like Nonito has. In 2007, Mares was fighting tomato cans in Arizona, Texas, and Illinois. Nobody save for the hard-core boxing insider knew of Mares five years ago. In the last two years, Mares has beaten Joseph Agbeko and Eric Morel, had a draw with Yonnhy Perez, and barely squeaked out a split decision win over a past-his-prime Darchinyan in 2010. When Donaire beat Darchinyan, the Armenian was in the heart of his prime. Secondly, Mares is promoted by Golden Boy, which makes it that much more difficult to make the fight. If Top Rank and Golden Boy agreed to make Donaire-Mares, Arum would have the larger percentage of the money because Donaire has the cache, Mares doesn’t. And I’m sure Golden Boy wouldn’t want that.

What Golden Boy has to do is to have Mares fight Nishioka. After all, if it weren’t for Nishioka vacating the WBC belt Mares wouldn’t have a belt in the first place. Nishioka is the emeritus champ, Mares is the beltholder. The only way to settle the true WBC champ is for Nishioka and Mares to fight. Nishioka will fight anywhere, including the United States. Nishioka is considered by Ring and ESPN as the number one super bantamweight in the world. Nishioka has defended his belt a lot longer than Mares has. Nishioka is the proven veteran who has taken on more stiff competition than Mares over the last four years. It’s Mares who has to prove he is on Nishioka and Donaire’s level. Beat the hard-nosed Nishioka to prove you are the real WBC champion, then you can have your day in the spotlight against Donaire, who certainly is more PPV worthy at this point than Mares.

What about Rigondeaux? The fact of the matter is, Rigondeaux can’t sell fights. He’s not an attraction, which leads me back to the market segmentation topic. Rigondeaux was placed on the Pacquiao undercard for a reason. And he will be continued to be placed on Pacquiao undercards, especially now that hopeful Mike Jones lost. Rigondeaux is next in line for Top Rank when it comes to building his name. Having Donaire fight Rigondeaux at this point in their careers does not make business sense. It’s a high risk, low reward issue for Arum because Donaire is his potential cash cow while Rigondeaux remains relatively unproven. The only time I see Donaire and Rigondeaux fighting is if both fighters move up to 126 (highly likely) and both fighters are champions at 126 (highly likely). For now, Arum is concentrated upon getting Donaire to unify all three belts at 122 and elevating his name brand to a legitimate PPV star. Rigondeaux is still not at that level but can get there if he provides exciting wins.

Why is Donaire more PPV worthy than Mares, Rigondeaux, and Nishioka? The answer lies in the personality and charisma of the fighter in addition to the fighter’s skills. Because of Donaire’s exhiliaring KO wins over two elite boxers (Darchinyan and Montiel) and because Donaire has the “flash,” the smile, the character, the class, and the fan friendly appeal, Donaire has carved himself nicely into the average boxing fan’s psyche. Mares, Rigondeaux, and Nishioka, as great as they are in boxing, simply don’t have the personality and charisma to match Nonito’s.

All in all, what has to happen is this: Donaire has to beat Arce. Mares has to unseat Nishioka to be considered as the true WBC super bantamweight champ. When this happens, Mares will get his shot at celebrity in the fall of 2013. Rigondeaux, meanwhile, will keep doing his thing and prove that his amateur career can back up his professional one. When more casual fans finally learn how to correctly say and spell Guillermo Rigondeaux, that’s when we’ll know he’s ready for primetime.