Manny Pacquiao's American opponent Chris Algieri is 'reincarnation of Gene Tunney', says agent Bob Arum

Eight-weight world champion Manny Pacquiao will return to Macau, China, on Nov 22 for his next fight to face little-known Chris Algieri who is unbeaten and burst on to the scene with a heroic victory over Russian Ruslan Provodnikov earlier this year.

Promoter Bob Arum sees Algieri, who fought Provodnikov with one eye closed and – after being knocked down early in the fight – with a rare spirit, prompting Arum to tell Telegraph Sport that Algieri was like "a reincarnation of Gene Tunney", the legendary heavyweight who moved and boxed cleverly behind his jab and made the sport in to more of a chess match.

To add to the storyline, the 30-year-old New Yorker is also headed to medical school to become a doctor.

Pacquiao returns to Macau a year after the Filipino great headlined the first big fight card there with a win over Brandon Rios.

Arum has insisted Pacquiao will fight at least once a year in Macau for the rest of his career, as the Octogenarian Las Vegas-based fight promoter seeks to open up the south-east Asia market.

"I think Chris Algieri is a terrific fighter and a big talent. It's almost like a return to Gene Tunney," Arum told Telegraph Sport.

"He's a college kid, he's articulate, he could be a medical doctor. Give me those kind of guys in this sport. I see him as the reincarnation of Tunney. I thought he deserved the victory, absolutely. He neutralised Provodnikov after the first round."

Arum also believes Pacquiao fighting in China as a huge promotional and business advantage, his belief being that the pay per view market potential in China is huge.

"It's almost like fighting at home so it's a major advantage for Manny," Arum said. "Plus, if he fights in Macau he's not subject to U.S. income taxes, which are 39.5 per cent."

Arum said the fight won't sell as well on pay-per-view in the U.S. as it would if it was in Las Vegas, but that will be offset by lower taxes on Pacquiao's purse and a bigger site fee from the Venetian Hotel-Casino. He said plans are also in place to sell the fight on TV in China, where Pacquiao is becoming better known.

"We hope to make up for any shortfall with the pay-per-view in China," Arum said. "The market is huge and we're going to sell it for like four dollars."

Pacquiao, 35, returns to Macau on a two-fight winning streak that began last September with his win over Rios, followed by a victory over Timothy Bradley in April this year, avenging defeat to Bradley after one of the most controversial judging decisions in boxing history.

Pacquiao's options have diminished in recent years with Floyd Mayweather junior refusing to fight him.

Until Oscar De La Hoya recently regained control of Golden Boy Promotions, his company was not allowing any of its fighters – including England's Amir Khan – to fight any of Arum's Top Rank boxers.

Amir Khan has told Telegraph Sport in recent days that he will fight Manny Pacquiao at some point in the future, but for the present, he is focused on a fight in December, opponent yet to be named, followed by a potential Las Vegas showdown with Mayweather in May, 2015.