Former heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman is well-known in the United Kingdom because of his historic 2001 knockout of England's Lennox Lewis to win the championship.
Now, Rahman (45-6-2, 36 KOs) could be headed there to fight another British star, cruiserweight champion David Haye (20-1, 19 KOs), who is planning a move up to heavyweight.
Haye stopped Jean-Marc Mormeck in the seventh round last month to win the title, but making weight has been difficult for him, so he is eyeing heavyweight and hopes to make a splash against a big-name opponent.
The Haye camp initiated conversations about two weeks ago, Rahman manager Steve Nelson told ESPN.com. Promoter Top Rank and Haye promoter Frank Maloney have been negotiating the fight for late March.
Nelson is enthusiastic about the fight for Rahman, who, despite looking shaky at times, has won four in a row since losing a title to Oleg Maskaev in August 2006.
"I saw Haye's fight with Mormeck. He's a tremendous puncher at cruiserweight," Nelson said. "His people have come to us about putting this together. They think we're done. I don't think we're done. I think Haye's taking on too much in one step to fight a big, strong heavyweight like Rock. It will be considered a strong win for Rock. We're very confident. I think Haye might be biting off more than he can chew. It's a big jump for him before he's built himself into a heavyweight.
"It will be a pretty big fight in England. We feel confident that Rock can beat the smaller guy."
Haye, 27, has won 10 in a row since his only loss, a fifth-round knockout to cruiserweight Carl Thompson in 2004.
Nelson said Rahman, 35, would take a tune-up bout before the proposed match with Haye, possibly Feb. 7 on Versus.
small caps to make the rest big.
HOLY ****ING **** I'D ********** OVER THAT!!!
I LOVE TO SEE THE GAYEMAKER AND HIM STEPPING IN WITH A POWERFUL HW LIKE THAT IS THE SORT OF THING :wank: ARE MADE OF.
FULL CREDIT TO THE GAYE, REMEMBER HE'S ONLY HAD 21 FIGHTS.
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