By Chris Williams: The World Boxing Council has decided to include their vacant WBC Diamond super bantamweight strap to be on the line for the October 13th fight between former WBC super bantamweight champion Toshiaki Nishioka (39-4-3, 24 KO’s) and IBF/WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (29-1, 18 KO’s) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

The WBC Diamond super bantamweight trinket is a title that the WBC created in 2009 as an honorary championship strap that is given to the winner of a fight between two well known fighters. I guess the Diamond title is the WBC’s way of inserting themselves into this fight because the WBC wasn’t a part of this fight until now. I don’t rate this belt as being a real one, but if I was to play along with it and see it as a legitimate strap that’s worthy to have, I don’t see the belt as something that should be on the line for this fight.

Donaire still hasn’t faced the two best fighters in the super bantamweight division – Abner Mares and Guillermo Rigondeaux – and Nishioka has lost several steps in his game. I don’t see the Nishioka-Donaire fight as being worthy of having the Diamond title on the line.

I could understand it if Donaire or Nishioka had cleared out the division by facing Rigondeaux and Mares and there was only the two of them left over. But that’s not how it is. It’s premature to have the Diamond belt up for grabs if neither Donaire or Nishioka has fought Mares or Rigondeaux. That’s living giving someone a championship trophy before the tournament is even complete. That’s just wrong. If I were Nishioka or Donaire, I’d tell the WBC ‘No thanks’ to their Diamond strap and instead would fight with the current IBF and WBO titles on the line.

Donaire will probably beat the 36-year-old Nishioka without any problems because Nishioka looked slow and old in his last fight against a past his prime Rafael Marquez last October. Nishioka looked like he was just a shade better than Marquez, and what does that tell you about Nishioka?