Mike Tyson this combination. Expectations for Tyson were extremely high, and he was the favorite to win the heavyweight unification series, a tournament designed to establish an undisputed heavyweight champion. Tyson defended his title against James Smith on March 7, 1987, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He won by unanimous decision and added Smith's World Boxing Association (WBA) title to his existing belt. "Tyson-mania" in the media was becoming rampant. He beat Pinklon Thomas in May by TKO in the sixth round. On August 1 he took the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title from Tony Tucker in a twelve round unanimous decision, with
Evander Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson II his championship and the incident with Tyson, Holyfield said he already forgave Tyson for biting him since he has 100% faith in God and Jesus. Nonetheless, Tyson was sentenced with a permanent suspension from boxing and his license cancelled indefinitely. Tyson was also fined $3,000,000 and had to serve a period of community service. After a year and an appeal in court, Tyson's license was reinstated. When Tyson and Holyfield retired from boxing they befriended each other and are now close friends today. The fight generated a total revenue of $180,000,000 ($), from live gate, pay-per-view, closed-circuit telecasts, foreign television