Boxing: Harrison sails on but the test is yet to come

Audley Harrison was taken beyond six rounds for the first time in his professional career when he outpointed Ratko Draskovic, a 37-year-old slugger from Serbia, here last night. The Olympic champion did not lose any of the eight rounds, sharing only one on the referee's scorecard against an opponent who had never been stopped in 33 fights.

Draskovic offered brave resistance, but little else as Harrison almost jabbed his head off with his stabbing southpaw right. He was floored, in the sixth when Harrison threw his best combination of the fight but it was more of a stumble and after first taking up the count the referee Paul Thomas agreed it was a slip.

The victory brought to a conclusion Harrison's 10-fight deal with the BBC and negotiations for a new arrangement are soon to get under way. In one sense it has been the perfect 10, as Audley has won them all, but in others it has been rather imperfect, the stream of opponents he has faced ranging from the inferior to the mediocre; Draskovic comes into the latter category. He was billed as the heavyweight champion of the Balkans but really he was little more than another journeyman, the likes of whom have become a staple diet for Harrison. As the man who calls the shots as well as throws them, it will be interesting to see how Harrison reacts to his BBC paymasters exercising greater quality control for any new investment.

Harrison is nothing if not a sound technician and last night he used his height and reach to some effect. But for such a big man he lacks real power. It is hard to imagine heavyweight predecessors Frank Bruno or Lennox Lewis not taking out the Serbian sooner. Back home Draskovic is a part-time bookie and his London counterparts quoted 50-1 against him beating Harrison; those odds never seemed in doubt.

Harrison calls his team the A-Force and hopefully we will have seen the last of such B-List opponents. But don't bet on it. Next up for him is supposed to be Blackpool's Matthew Ellis in May or June. It is claimed that Ellis represents an escalation in class but this seems questionable. After a year's absence the Blackpool fighter returned last night on the undercard, slimmed down to 14st 11lb to outpoint Derek McCafferty over four rounds. McCafferty had taken Harrison six rounds 18 months ago and it is doubtful whether Ellis will provide more than literally lightweight opposition.

Harrison said before the bout that he expected to have to go the distance; afterwards he confirmed he was happy to do so as part of his "learning curve''. He reckons he will win the British title within a year and that he would beat the Turk Samil Sam, a knock-out conqueror of the British champion Danny Williams, right now.

That may be wishful thinking for he still has some way to go, although he says: "I'm one of the world's top heavyweight prospects. It's all there for me. I promise you I will justify the hype."

Harrison entered the ring dressed more for the catwalk than the ring-walk, his hair braided with turquoise ribbons with matching gloves, trunks and boots. He was ruffled only occasionally by the Serb's clumsy attack. What happens when he meets someone who can move and punch remains the big question.

Watching from ringside was the now retired promoter Mickey Duff, once the Mr Big of British boxing, who, together with the BBC masterminded Bruno's career along similar lines to Harrison's. But, says Duff, there is one big difference: "Bruno had hand-picked opponents too, but he was a young man with time on his side. When you are over 30, like Harrison, you have got to hurry things along. You don't have time to build a career the way he is doing. Up to now he has been fighting crap. Now he must fight a better class of crap.''