Chad Dawson vs Jean Pascal rematch rumored

Ryan Burton of BoxingScene.com reports that "multiple sources" say there is interest in a rematch between Chad Dawson and Jean Pascal, following a rough spell for both fighters.

Dawson (31-2, 17 KO) is coming off of a step down to super middleweight and a bad loss there to Andre Ward, who broke Dawson down and stopped him in the 10th round. Dawson still holds the WBC light heavyweight title, though, and coming off of that type of loss, needs an attractive, known opponent if he's going to get back into the mix for the major TV networks.

Pascal (26-2-1, 16 KO) could be that guy. The Hatiian-Canadian hasn't fought since May 2011, when he lost to Bernard Hopkins in Montreal, and has repeatedly pulled out of fights that were being either seriously negotiated, or were flat-out signed and good to go.

The last scheduled Pascal fight was to be against Tavoris Cloud on August 11, but that fell through when Pascal pulled out due to injury. There's been a lot of talk that Pascal simply isn't focused on his boxing career at this point, but talk is talk -- though usually, where there's smoke, there's fire, and all that.

Pascal beat Dawson by technical decision in Montreal in August 2010, though Dawson was coming on hard before the fight was stopped on cuts. It was a fascinatingly frustrating fight to watch, as Dawson pulled a Dawson and simply didn't do enough for much of the fight, but Pascal wore down and was looking very vulnerable at the time the fight was called to a halt and sent to the scorecards.

Given that Dawson and Pascal are both at sort of an iffy state with their careers right now (credible and relevant fighters, but either inactive or coming off of a bad performance), it's a fight that could make a lot of sense, and would be must-win for each side.