By Keith Idec

Bob Arum’s primary problem with Guillermo Rigondeaux is, despite his vast talent, he has been entirely too content to sit on leads and produce boring boxing that makes television viewers change the channel.

The Hall-of-Fame promoter is certain, however, that Rigondeaux won’t be afforded the opportunity to do that when the unbeaten Cuban southpaw opposes Vasyl Lomachenko. Arum, Lomachenko’s promoter and Rigondeaux’s former promoter, expects an aggressive Lomachenko (9-1, 7 KOs) to force Rigondeaux (17-0, 11 KOs, 1 NC) to fight at a pace that’ll lead to an entertaining bout December 9 in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

“Vasyl will not allow Rigondeaux to pile up points,” Arum said during a conference call Wednesday. “So Rigondeaux, to win the fight, will have to be more aggressive than he wants to be. When you watch a Rigondeaux fight, you will see a fantastic fighter who is aggressive, piles up points and then stinks you out by just coasting to victory.

“That’s the Cuban style. Just win, brother, just win by the points. A different style from the Eastern European. So I think this is gonna be a very, very good fight, a very interesting fight, because Rigondeaux is not gonna be able to get out, with a big lead on points, on Vasyl. And therefore, he will have to fight the entire fight, as long as it goes, to win.”

Ukraine’s Lomachenko, 29, is a 4½-to-1 favorite over Rigondeaux, who’s eight years older and will move up two weight classes to challenge his fellow two-time Olympic gold medalist. They’ll fight for Lomachenko’s WBO super featherweight championship in a scheduled 12-rounder ESPN will televise.

“Rigondeaux is a very, very good fighter,” Arum added. “He is one of the best fighters that I’ve seen. He’s a terrific fighter. You can’t let him pile up the points because then he’ll coast and stink you out. Vasyl is not only a great fighter, he is the best fighter since the young Muhammad Ali. He will not cede the ground early. Therefore, Rigondeaux will have to fight the entire fight in order to win. And therefore, I see a very, very exciting fight, and you’re gonna see the best of these guys.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.