Pascal vs Erdei, Taylor vs Alcine Double-Header Likely Headed to Showtime

Corey Erdman reports that Jean Pascal's next fight will likely be announced in the "next two or three days," according to promoter Yvon Michel, and a Showtime double-header featuring Pascal against Zsolt Erdei in the main event is the likely impending announcement.

Pascal (26-2-1, 16 KO) hasn't fought since May 2011, when he lost to Bernard Hopkins in Montreal. He's been at a lot o fights since then, just not in the ring, and rumored dates and opponents fell through repeatedly. Earlier this evening, Ismayl Sillakh's team said that recent negotiations were broken off, and now we know why.

Erdei (33-0, 18 KO) signed with DiBella Entertainment a couple of years ago to move to America and try to distinguish his career. Thus far, he hasn't really done so, but some of his recent fights have been a lot more exciting than his previous reputation led many to believe they would be, and he's still a pretty quality fighter.

At 37, Erdei is running out of time to really, truly make his mark on the sport globally. This is the sort of fight he has to take if he wants to do that. For Pascal, it's a chance to get back into the title mix at 175. Maybe he was a true fluke -- if he is, Erdei's good enough to beat him, and very well might.

The co-feature would see Jermain Taylor (29-4-1, 18 KO) continue his comeback trail with a soft but not pointless fight against a faded Joachim Alcine (33-2-1, 19 KO).

Taylor, 33, returned to the ring after a two-year break from the sport in December, beating Jessie Nicklow on an allegedly "special" version of ShoBox. Reunited with old trainer Pat Burns and longtime promoter Lou DiBella, the plan for Taylor is to slowly up his competition and see if he can become a contender again. It may be a long shot, but they're doing it the right (and frankly, the safe) way.

Alcine, 35, is a former junior middleweight titleholder whose career has taken a dip the last four years. He lost by knockout to both Daniel Santos and Alfredo Angulo, and drew with club fighter Jose Medina last August (though that was reported to be bogus scoring by many, in Medina's favor), but in his last fight out he took a well-earned majority decision over David Lemieux and re-sparked his career a bit.

No date or location has been named yet, but the fight card will undoubtedly head to Quebec, where Pascal and Alcine can help bring in a strong house.