Rahman to Fight Lewis in Rematch

Hasim Rahman will defend the World Boxing Council-International Boxing Federation heavyweight titles for a minimum of $10 million in a November rematch with Lennox Lewis.

“Rahman has signed, Lewis has signed and TVKO wants it,” said Steve Nelson, Rahman’s co-manager. TVKO is the pay-per-view arm of HBO, which has a multifight deal with Lewis.

“The fight definitely will be Nov. 10 or Nov. 17,” Nelson said. “We anticipate it will be in Las Vegas.”

Rahman’s purse for the April 22 fight, when he knocked out Lewis in the fifth round, was $1.5 million. Lewis made $7 million.

Preparations are under way for Mike Tyson to fight Brian Nielsen of Denmark as California authorities decide whether to charge the former heavyweight champion with rape.

“We are going for a passport for him right now and we’re intending to fight Sept. 8 in Copenhagen,” said Shelly Finkel, Tyson’s advisor.

A 50-year-old woman maintains she was sexually assaulted by Tyson on July 16 at a Big Bear home he rented while training. The San Bernardino County district attorney’s office received the case Monday from sheriff’s investigators.

Floyd Mayweather Jr., 26-0 with 19 knockouts, will defend his WBC super-featherweight title for a seventh time when he fights Jesus Chavez (34-1, 24 KOs) on Oct. 6 at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view card also will include WBC lightweight champion Jose Luis Castillo facing Carlos Gerena and unbeaten contender Julio Diaz facing an opponent to be named.

Basketball

Ronnie Lester, a Laker scout the last 14 years, was promoted to assistant general manager. Lester played for the Lakers and Chicago Bulls during a six-year career cut short by injury.

Dan Gadzuric and Jason Kapono of UCLA and David Bluthenthal and Sam Clancy of USC are among the 50 college preseason candidates for the Wooden Award. Other candidates include Jerry Green of UC Irvine, Casey Jacobsen of Stanford and Tayshaun Prince of Kentucky.

Tennis

Pete Sampras, a three-time champion of the Tennis Masters Series Cincinnati, defeated Nicolas Lapentti, 6-3, 6-2, in the first round while defending champion Thomas Enqvist was upset by Nicolas Kiefer, 6-4, 6-0.

Boris Becker returned to competitive tennis after a two-year absence, but he and doubles partner Goran Ivanisevic lost to Todd Woodbridge and Jonas Bjorkman, 6-3, 6-2.

College Football

The Aloha Bowl is unlikely to move to Anaheim unless bowl organizers reconsider their requests for financial guarantees, City Manager James Ruth said.

Disney has offered bowl organizers a five-year contract to move the Christmas Day game to Edison Field, said Kevin Uhlich, vice president of Disney’s Anaheim Sports division.

UCLA junior tight end Mike Seidman will have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Friday to remove torn cartilage, and his status is uncertain for the Bruins’ opener Sept. 1 at Alabama.

USC has decided not to have freshman lineman Ray Tago participate in summer training while his Scholastic Assessment Test score is reviewed. Tago, a Long Beach Poly High alumnus, reported to camp earlier this week but left Tuesday. His high school teammate, Marvin Simmons, is awaiting the conclusion of a similar investigation.

Miscellany

A collector from Pennsylvania agreed to pay $577,610 for “Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s bat, “Black Betsy,” one of sports’ most fabled artifacts. It’s believed to be the highest price ever paid for a bat.

The 10-day auction on eBay attracted only two bidders--one of whom did not enter until the final five minutes. The winning bid was made by Rob Mitchell, the 30-year-old owner of a marketing company in Pottstown, Pa.