 He went on to lose to Taurus Sykes in New Mexico, who was
not highly regarded in spite of his 22-1-1 record in 2005, arguably the low point of his career.He then drew with fringe contender Dominick Guinn, and then was competitive in losing efforts against undefeated prospects Sultan Ibragimov (Olympic silver medalist) and 6-0 Olympic Gold medalist Alexander Povetkin.In 2007 he rebounded by handing 19-0 New Zealand prospect Shane Cameron his first loss by knocking him down twice in the 12th and final round, after the second knockdown the referee intervened and stopped the contest, earning him a TKO victory.