By Rick Reeno

Richard Schaefer, CEO for Golden Boy Promotions, advised BoxingScene.com that WBC super bantamweight champion Abner Mares (24-0-1, 13KOs) is not contractually bound to either network, Showtime or HBO.

Schaefer wanted to clear up any confusion after some of the recent comments that appeared on BoxingScene , where Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, stated that Mares' involvement with Showtime would prevent a possible unification with WBO champion Nonito Donaire (28-1, 18KOs).

“HBO is the premiere network and to its credit has embraced this division,” insists Arum of the network which will showcase Donaire in his fourth straight fight. “Mares is a very good fighter, but he has to be willing to perform on the premiere network which is HBO and not on the secondary network that is Showtime."

There is nothing that prevents Mares from facing Donaire on HBO, says Schaefer, but the Golden CEO believes the high-stakes unification should go to the network which presents the most lucrative offer for the fight.

"I saw these comments that he made about Showtime, but this is just typical Arum. Everybody is so tired of this guy. He lives in a different era, the ice age. It's just surprising that HBO is [dealing with him], because HBO is going to get fooled again. Everybody who deals with this guy gets fooled. HBO using him to be their spokesperson is surprising. It is what it is," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

"There are no agreements [binding Mares to either network]. I think the fighters should go where they could make the most money. That's where they should go. Now he's talking about a Donaire-Mares fight because that's what everybody would like to see, but he's not serious. We know that. The guy will do tune-up after tune-up and strings everybody along and makes everybody believe that eventually something big is going to happen and it never happens. He is famous for his quotes about marinating stuff. The chief marinator."

Schaefer is open to sitting down with Top Rank and working out a mutually beneficial agreement to do the fight, but he doesn't expect to receive any phone calls.

"The unfortunate thing is he gets fight fans fired up and excited about certain matchups that people would like to see and in the end he doesn't deliver," Schaefer said.

"In a way it's funny. If you look at some of those videos when he was going off on the UFC, that all of the guys are gays and rolling around on the floor. If you look at some of these videos, the guy is hilarious. They should book him at the Wynn in a comedy show. His buddy Steve [Wynn] should book him at the Wynn, at the lounge bar, and he can do comedy. He's a standup comedian. You can't take serious anything this guy says."