By Keith Idec

Those thinking that Manny Pacquiao and his handlers aren’t all that concerned about underdog Chris Algieri pulling off an upset should guess again.

Promoter Bob Arum confirmed on a conference call Thursday that there’s an immediate rematch clause in the contracts for the Nov. 22 bout between Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) and Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) in Macau, China (HBO Pay-Per-View).

“If Algieri wins the fight, there’s a provision in the contract that he must give Manny Pacquiao a rematch,” Arum said. “So I think if he does pull off the upset, I’m sure Manny would want revenge and so that would be Algieri’s next fight. And then we’d have to see what develops along the lines [for Algieri thereafter]. Algieri is one of the most confident fighters that I’ve run across. He has convinced everybody that he’s talked to [that he’ll win] because he believes it himself and he is prepared to give the fight of his life against Manny. He’s very, very intelligent. He knows what he’s doing in the ring. This is going to be a very, very competitive fight.”

Pacquiao is a 12-1 favorite over the 30-year-old Algieri, of Huntington, N.Y., approaching their 12-round fight for Pacquiao’s WBO welterweight title. If Algieri loses, he’ll still own the WBO junior welterweight title he won from Russia’s Ruslan Provodnikov (23-3, 16 KOs) on June 14 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. There was a rematch clause in the Algieri-Provodnikov contracts as well, but not for an immediate meeting in the event Algieri won the fight.

Regardless, Algieri doesn’t seem all that interested in facing Provodnikov again, despite that he won their bout by split decision (114-112, 114-112, 109-117).

“People who don’t think I won that fight, they don’t know boxing,” Algieri told BoxingScene.com recently. “I’m not really too concerned about [a rematch]. If it happens, if it comes up, and he gets some big, major fights and gets onto this level, then sure, we can fight.

“I have no problem with that fight. I didn’t fear him before the fight; I’m not going to fear him now. So if that fight ever materializes, sure. But we have to see what the landscape of the sport is. I don’t think I have to prove anything [against Provodnikov]. I think [my win] was quite enough.”

Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.