Mike Tyson vs. Brian Nielsen Originally, Tyson was rewarded with a technical knockout victory, but it was later changed to a no-contest in January 2001 after a post-fight drug test revealed that Tyson had tested positive for marijuana. Just days before Tyson's positive test became known to the public, he was also issued a three-month suspension by the State of Michigan, which the Nevada Athletic Commission agreed to uphold, though the suspension had little effect on Tyson's boxing schedule as he had already announced his intentions to take those three months off. After serving the suspension, Tyson's next fight was initially going to be against
Mike Tyson vs. Francois Botha of 4–1 on October 18, 1998. After much speculation over who Tyson would face in his return bout, it was officially announced that Tyson would face former IBF Heavyweight champion Francois Botha on January 16, 1999. Despite his long layoff, Tyson was forthright about his chances of collecting a victory over Botha by way of knockout. On one occasion, Tyson stated "I am going right at him and I expect him to go down cold. I expect him to die." The comment would cause some controversy, with some in the boxing world claiming that Tyson had gone too far. Botha