Boxing: Lennox is left on sidelines

World heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman will fight Denmark's Brian Nielsen in Beijing for his first title defence - a decision that leaves Lennox Lewis on the sidelines.

Promoter Don King, who signed 28-year-old Rahman last week, said a date of August 4 or 5 had been pencilled in.

King has promised Rahman £10.5m for a unification fight against the winner of WBA champion John Ruiz and ex-champion Evander Holyfield in Beijing on August 4, £14m to fight Lewis and £21m to face Tyson.

Rahman, who took the titles from Lewis with a fifth-round knockout on April 21 in South Africa, will earn £3.3m for fighting Nielsen but there are a number of lawsuits in the offing.

Lewis has filed one in the hope of making Rahman stick to a re-match clause in his contract. But he knows the only real path to reclaiming his crowns is a court victory.

His manager Frank Maloney said: 'It's called being outmanoeuvred. But hope-fully we can move the jigsaw pieces around and get back into a strong position.'