Lewis will fight Canada's Kirk Johnson

World heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis will not be defending his WBC crown when he takes on Kirk Johnson in June.

The pair will meet at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on 21 June, but the WBC will not sanction a Lewis fight against Johnson.

That means only the lightly regarded IBO title, also held by Lewis, will be at stake.

Johnson played down the significance of the WBC refusing to back the fight.

"As long as people know the winner of the fight is the champion," he said.

"Once I beat Lennox Lewis, people will recognize Kirk Johnson as the man who beat the man who beat the man."

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And Lewis, who has not fought since his eighth-round knockout of Mike Tyson last June, insists he will be ready.

"I have been busy for a long time," said Lewis. "I'm deserving of a rest. I'm in great shape.

"I have been doing a lot of maintenance work. My body is telling me to go into camp and put on the final touches."

Former title holder Tyson is still set to fight on the same bill, although he has yet to sign a contract for his expected meeting with Oleg Maskaev of Kazakhstan.

"We just haven't completed a deal for Mike to fight on this card, but we are cautiously optimistic," said promoter Gary Shaw.

Lewis added: "Were optimistic about it. I'm not really worried about that right now. I'm the champion. With Tyson on the card, it's an added bonus."

The California State Athletic Commission agreed in an informal poll on Monday to grant Tyson a licence without a hearing.

Lewis' manager Adrian Ogun said that if Lewis beats Johnson, talks are set to begin in July for a bout with Vitali Klitschko.

Ogun blamed Klitschko's promoter for their $4m offer to the fighter being rejected.

"We believe there is a problem there," Ogun said. "But we believe it will be resolved. We will start negotiations on 1 July."