Golden Boy Promotions today announced that it had signed Filipino bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire to its fold. The Filipino-American boxer had climbed up the pound-for-pound rankings with very impressive victories over Wladimir Sidorenko and Fernando Montiel, and his star has never been brighter.

But the move does not figure to go smoothly for Donaire. Bob Arum, head of Top Rank Promotions that previously handled the fighter’s career, claims that Donaire still has a live contract with the company, and will be filing a suit against Golden Boy.

Donaire is not the first fighter to come between the two promotions, and he almost certainly wouldn’t be the last. The most high-profile tug-of-war between Top Rank and Golden Boy involved pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao a few years ago. Like Donaire, Pacquiao was with Top Rank when Golden Boy tried to lure him away in late 2006. The two sides came to a settlement brokered by mediator Daniel Feinstein, which granted Top Rank promotional rights to Pacquiao with Golden Boy entitled to a percentage of the profits from each bout.

The settlement thawed a “cold war” between the two companies, who then collaborated on a series of boxing cards together. But by 2008, the cold war was back on, with Arum accusing Golden Boy of trying to freeze Top Rank out of Las Vegas venues. Since then, Pacquiao has only signed fights against boxers who are not part of the Golden Boy stable.

Last year, Golden Boy once again sued Top Rank, claiming that Arum’s promotion was shortchanging them over proceeds of Pacquiao’s fights.

Donaire finds himself a pawn in a much bigger battle, one that might turn very ugly. If this affects his career, it will be a shame, because he has finally shown signs of being able to tap his full potential and turn into boxing’s next big star.

To be fair, it’s understandable why Donaire would want to get away from Top Rank. After signing with the promotion in 2008, his career ebbed as he was pitted against less talented fighters. But his last two fights against Sidorenko and Montiel effectively rejuvenated his stock, and he is now as popular and as well-regarded in boxing circles as ever.

It’s hard to see exactly what long-term benefits Donaire would receive from signing with Golden Boy right now, except perhaps for a guaranteed signing bonus. Golden Boy has a pretty bare cellar when it comes to boxing talent Donaire’s size; the only top-caliber opponent in the GBP stable for Donaire is fellow bantamweight champion Abner Mares.

Meanwhile, other big name boxers who could be paired up with Donaire for lucrative mega-fights, such as Juan Manuel Lopez, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and even Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., are signed with Top Rank, and with the two promotions engaged in further hostilities, there’s no chance that those fights would happen.

I’m also not sure if this really is the best move for the Donaires, PR-wise. Manny Pacquiao got away with signing a contract with Golden Boy because he’s Manny Pacquiao; most Filipino boxing fans wouldn’t be as patient with Donaire. Already, there’s a backlash against Nonito – fairly or unfairly – over the stuff he gets involved with outside the ring, from the family drama to feuds with media members such as Manny Piñol and Chino Trinidad. I can’t imagine this contract dispute making him look any better.