by David P. Greisman

We’ve waited longer for fights than we have for the fight between Abner Mares and Leo Santa Cruz. We’ve waited for bigger fights, at that. Yet the news that Mares and Santa Cruz will fight on Aug. 29 is welcome. And that’s even though Mares vs. Santa Cruz wasn’t our first choice.

Mares vs. Nonito Donaire was. The events that made that fight moot in turn led to Mares vs. Santa Cruz.

Three years ago, in 2012, Mares had just wrapped up an impressive run in the bantamweight division, where he’d taken part in a Showtime tournament, fighting to a draw with Yonnhy Perez, edging Vic Darchinyan, taking a controversial decision over Joseph Agbeko and then winning more convincingly in their rematch. He had since moved up to 122 and won a vacant world title against the faded Eric Morel. Later in the year, he would defend it against skilled 118-pounder Anselmo Moreno.

Donaire also had re-entered the headlines at bantamweight in 2011 with his highlight-reel technical knockout of Fernando Montiel. He, too, jumped to junior featherweight in 2012, embarking on a campaign in which he won a vacant belt against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., unified it against Jeffrey Mathebula, stopped a highly ranked opponent in Toshiaki Nishioka, then wrapped up the year with a drubbing of the faded Jorge Arce.

Those four wins — well, really those first three wins — were enough to merit recognition from the Boxing Writers Association of America as its Fighter of the Year.”

Donaire was an exciting three-division titleholder (his interim belt at 115 not included). Mares was an entertaining fighter who had won belts in two weight classes. They seemed a natural pairing. But a deal could never be consummated, par for the course given the poor relationship at that time between Golden Boy Promotions, which at the time promoted Mares, and Top Rank Inc., which had and still has Donaire in its stable.

Instead, Donaire went on to face fellow 122-pound titleholder Guillermo Rigondeaux in April 2013, losing a unanimous decision. Mares, meanwhile, fought three weeks later as a featherweight, stopping Daniel Ponce De Leon to capture a belt in a third weight class and doing so in a coveted spot on the undercard to Floyd Mayweather’s pay-per-view win over Robert Guerrero.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do next, but who wouldn’t want to see him against Leo Santa Cruz?” said Richard Schaefer, at that point still the CEO of Golden Boy, speaking after the Mares win to BoxingScene.com. “That was a pound-for-pound performance [by Mares], and now you know why the Donaire fight didn’t happen — because Bob [Arum of Top Rank] is not that dumb. He’s been doing it for 50 years. He knows it, and [Top Rank matchmaker Bruce] Trampler knew it, too. Donaire would have gotten his ass handed to him.”

Mares lost less than four months later, on the receiving end of two knockdowns in the first round against Jhonny Gonzalez.

Even without promotional politics, Donaire vs. Mares wasn’t going to happen for some time. Both men needed to rebuild.

Donaire struggled far more than he should’ve against Darchinyan in a rematch later in 2013 and was behind on the scorecards when he scored the stoppage. He fought for a world title in May 2014 against Simpiwe Vetyeka. The bout was shortened by a clash of heads, and Donaire benefited from questionable refereeing to take the belt via technical decision. He didn’t hold it long, getting dropped twice by Nicholas Walters last October. Donaire’s since moved back down to 122.

Mares suffered an injury in 2014 that canceled his rematch with Gonzalez, who since got clobbered against Gary Russell Jr. His return has been gradual and unmemorable, with two decisions and a technical knockout over lower-tier opponents.

Golden Boy and Top Rank now have a working relationship. That’s because Schaefer is no longer at Golden Boy. Then again, neither is Mares.

Mares had spent his entire career with the promoter but was part of the exodus of boxers from Golden Boy who were signed with the highly powerful Al Haymon. Schaefer and Haymon had worked together, though that relationship also meant that many who had been under contract with Golden Boy had those contracts lapse but continued to be featured by the promoter on a fight-by-fight basis.

That freedom allowed Haymon to bring his boxers with him as the longtime adviser and manager began a venture called “Premier Boxing Champions.” (Haymon also doesn’t work with Top Rank, though they were able to do so for Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao this past May.)

Mares vs. Santa Cruz will either be on a PBC bout on one of the many stations airing the series, or on Showtime, which had been the home for Haymon’s boxers beforehand and continues to spotlight members of his stable.

As slow as Mares has been to step back up from his stoppage loss, Santa Cruz’s recent run has been even more frustrating.

Santa Cruz was young but talented when he emerged in 2012, a 23-year-old outhustling Vusi Malinga on Showtime to win a vacant title at 118 pounds. He turned 24 and fought three more times that year, stopping Eric Morel on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs. Josesito Lopez, taking out Victor Zaleta on the undercard of Mares vs. Moreno, and then outpointing Alberto Guevera in what was then a rare afternoon spotlight fight on CBS. That was another vote of confidence in Santa Cruz, whose fan-friendly style was put on national television.

He moved up to 122 in 2013, taking out Alexander Munoz and then disposing of Victor Terrazas to win a world title. His time with that belt left many wondering why a fighter whose career once was being pushed with the pedal to the metal had since been coasting at a leisurely pace.

A decision win over Cesar Seda in late 2013 came against an opponent with a tricky style. A wide victory over Cristian Mijares in early 2014 came against an accomplished and experienced foe who otherwise was declining. But then Santa Cruz fought Manuel Roman, a former sparring partner of his, on the pay-per-view undercard of the Mayweather-Marcos Maidana rematch. Santa Cruz won quickly and easily.

Santa Cruz began this year with a win over Jesus Ruiz, and that would be his last title defense. Despite being in a division with other talented names, there was no rush to make those fights — particularly as they belonged to other stables. This past May, Santa Cruz moved up to featherweight.

And only now will he face Mares, with no belts on the line and less allure than there was when both men were fighting at a high level against top-tier opposition.

The smaller gaps between these lighter weight classes mean that there’s never been much separating Mares and Santa Cruz. Mares had just finished up at 118 when Santa Cruz won his first title there. Santa Cruz moved to 122 on the same pay-per-view undercard that had Mares winning a title at 126.

Yes, Mares has been rebuilding. And yes, Santa Cruz was still maturing. But what kept these two apart and then brought them together wasn’t about boxing — it was about business.

Haymon, like many managers and promoters, has sought to string out good paydays for his fighters against easier foes, delaying more desirable bouts until the networks that write the checks finally demand they happen. As Haymon’s fighters transitioned away from Golden Boy, and with PBC soon to be announced, he likely wanted to keep marquee matchups for his own series, which has his investors’ money on the line.

That’s likely why a fight between junior welterweights Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson wasn’t able to be made on Showtime last August, with Garcia and Peterson instead getting gimme wins on a Showtime broadcast. Garcia vs. Peterson was aired on “PBC on NBC” this past April.

Mares was on the undercard to the premiere “PBC on NBC” show in March, though in his case his position on the undercard meant he actually was shown after the main event and on another channel, NBC Sports Network. Mares got paid seven figures to perform in front of a far smaller audience.

That’s a high cost with little return to keep a fighter busy. And that’s all the more reason why we’ll get Mares vs. Santa Cruz on the last weekend in August.

It should still be a very good fight, given the styles involved and the implications for the winner. Whoever comes out victorious could be in line for a shot against one of two Haymon titleholders at featherweight, Gary Russell Jr. or Jesus Cuellar. There’s also a possibility that a fight could be made with a recent Haymon signee, Carl Frampton, who holds a title at 122, is a star in Northern Ireland, and who will be fighting in El Paso in two weeks as a “matinee” show to that night’s Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight.

Boxers feel less pressure to take certain fights when they’re already getting paid well. They’ll say in one breath that they’re ready and willing, but then they’ll follow with the excuse in their next breath that whom they face is up to their team, particularly their manager and their promoter.

Mares and Santa Cruz have profited despite facing lesser opposition in their past three fights. They’ll get paid even more on Aug. 29.

This fight being made is not merely about money, though.

It’s about time.

It’s about time they faced each other. It’s about time they stopped wasting ours.

The 10 Count will return soon.

“Fighting Words” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com