By Rick Reeno

BoxingScene.com was advised that a bout between former heavyweight champions Hasim Rahman (36-7-2, 36KOs) and Ray Mercer (36-7-1, 26KOs) is in the works for November 19 at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. The arena will be scaled to seat 7500 fans and may end up as an internet-based pay-per-view.

The fight is not finalized. I've been told there are some loose ends that need to be tied but everything could be in order in the next two to three days. Rahman has not fought since last December's knockout loss to Wladimir Klitschko. Mercer returns from an upset decision over Richel Hersisia. The Hersisia bout took place last September. Both of them will be shaking off a lot of rust.

If Rahman is able to beat Mercer, there is minor talk of a possible rematch with Evander Holyfield in 2010. I've been told that Holyfield has expressed some interest in the fight. Rahman's technical decision loss to Holyfield in 2002 is famous, to some, for one reason. During the HBO televised fight, Holyfield and Rahman clashed heads, which created a massive swelling on Rahman's head. One of the worst swellings that I, and many others, have even seen in a prize fight. The swelling grew so large that it forced an early stop to the fight. Holyfield has been inactive since last year's decision loss to current WBA champion Nikolai Valuev. A lot of people thought Holyfield did enough to win a decision.