NEW YORK, NY (January 25, 2003) - WBC heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and his business manager Adrian Ogun met yesterday with HBO executives at their New York headquarters to discuss the world champion's future, which includes a planned return to the ring in June.

"We had a very productive meeting with Lennox and his team," said Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports. "HBO is excited that Lennox intends to defend his heavyweight crown in June and we look forward to finalizing those plans based on Mike Tyson's performance next month. We support Lennox Lewis in any fight that he chooses to pursue. Lennox Lewis is the greatest heavyweight of his era and HBO is proud of our association with him."

"Lennox Lewis will defend his Heavyweight Championship in June of this year," said Judd Burstein, Lennox Lewis' attorney. "Although there were extensive negotiations for an April bout against Vitali Klitschko, the parties had too many remaining issues between them to make the April bout feasible. Now that there will be no bout in April, Lennox has a contractual obligation to consider Mike Tyson as his June opponent, and looks forward to seeing how Tyson performs in the February bout against Clifford Etienne," added Burstein.