 Barrett defeated prospects Dominick Guinn and Owen Beck, the latter in an elimination bout for a shot at either the IBF title (then held by Chris Byrd) or the WBC title (then held by Vitali Klitschko).After Klitschko injured his back, Barrett fought Hasim Rahman for the WBC interim title and lost by unanimous decision after 12 rounds.Despite his loss, he fought World Boxing Association heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev in October at Rosemont, Illinois.