declared the winner. The judges scored the bout 99–90 (twice) and 98-91, all in favor of Peter. At the conclusion of 2005, Peter was ranked No.9 heavyweight in the world by The Ring. BoxRec ranked Peter as the world's No.6 heavyweight. On April 28, 2006, Peter faced 7'11" journeyman Julius Long (14–7, 12 KOs) for the NABF heavyweight title, despite the fact that Long was unranked by the WBC, in a bout televised by ESPN. Long was 4–2 in his last six fights, coming off of a UD loss to Terry Smith (24–1–1, 16 KOs). Peter was viewed as the heavy favorite against Long who, despite his size, was mostly an inside fighter and threw punches under unusual angles. Peter made a quick work of Long, dropping him 80 seconds into the first round and then again clobbering him by a three-punch combination, which resulted in Long collapsing face first on the canvas, prompting the referee to stop the fight. Peter vs. Toney I, II His next bout was a fight with heavyweight contender James Toney on September 2, 2006 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the right to challenge WBC heavyweight champion Oleg Maskaev. Peter would win by split decision; however, the WBC would find adequate cause to order a rematch. For this fight against Toney, Manny Masson was brought in to train Peter. On January 6, 2007, Peter defeated Toney in the rematch by unanimous decision (UD). The official judges' scorecards read 119–108, 118–110, 118–110. Peter vs. McCline After defeating Toney, he had earned the right to challenge the WBC heavyweight champion. A match against Oleg Maskaev was scheduled for October 6, 2007. However, Maskaev pulled out of the fight due to a back injury. This led the WBC to proclaim Peter their interim heavyweight champion. Jameel McCline was scheduled to fight Vitali Klitschko on September 22 for a title elimination. However, the fight was canceled because Klitschko had suffered a back injury in training. Under these conditions, a fight was arranged between Peter and McCline. Peter stepped into the ring as the champion trying to defend his title. Much controversy preceded the match since McCline had been accused of using illegal substances in 2005 and 2006, but the organizers decided to let the fight happen despite this. Lab analysis would be available about 5 days after the fight. Peter almost pulled out of the fight