By Chris Williams: WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (30-1, 19 KO’s) is complaining long and hard that 33-year-old past his best Jorge Arce (60-6-2, 46 KO’s) is making negotiations difficult for him for their planned December 15th fight. Arce isn’t readily agreeing to the money offered him and it’s leaving Donaire frustrated that he can’t get the fight signed.

Donaire said to Examiner.com “We already tried to ink the fight 5 or 6 times, but they keep on demanding everything. I have the belt and yet they’re still demanding? Arce knows I’m going to his lair. They know that I’m fighting though I’m still injured. Yet they still don’t want to get the fight done.”

What does Donaire expect Arce to do? Doesn’t Donaire realize that Arce is much more popular in Mexico than Donaire is in the United States? Why would Arce take chump change to fight Donaire when he can get nice paydays in Mexico facing any old body that his promoters dig up for him. He doesn’t need to take on Donaire unless their willing to give him the kind of cash that he’s asking for.

It’s strange to see Donaire so interested in the Arce fight when apparently Arce has priced himself out by asking for too much money. I don’t remember Donaire making a big fuss when Anselmo Moreno and Guillermo Rigondeaux supposedly priced themselves out for a fight with Donaire. Donaire said that they had priced themselves out for a fight with him, but it must have been negotiations that were shielded from the media because I don’t remember ever hearing those guys were even mentioned as possible opponents for Donaire.

Instead of trying to get a fight with Arce, Donaire should be trying to get a fight with Abner Mares, Anselmo Moreno or Gullermo Rigondeaux so that Donaire can finally try and prove himself capable of beating the best fighters at 122. I don’t count Donaire’s wins over Jeffrey Mathebula, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr, and Toshiaki Nishioka, because I don’t rate those guys as being the top guys in the division.