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
Mike Tyson not permanent, as the commission voted 4–1 to restore Tyson's boxing license on October 18, 1998. During his time away from boxing in 1998, Tyson made a guest appearance at WrestleMania XIV as an enforcer for the main event match between Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin. During this time, Tyson was also an unofficial member of Michaels' stable, D-Generation X. Tyson was paid $3 million for being guest enforcer of the match at WrestleMania XIV. In January 1999, Tyson returned to the ring for a match against the South African Francois Botha. This match also ended in controversy. While Botha