Boxing: Victorious Harrison starts to win over critics

It was easy for Audley Harrison on Saturday night against the stoic war veteran and current Balkan heavyweight champion, Ratko Draskovic, at the Wembley Conference Centre, but it was just not very entertaining.

Harrison's new blue hair remained in place throughout eight competent rounds of cautious and careful boxing in front of a crowd that obviously wanted blood. It was Harrison's first eight-round fight and the final bout of his current £1m deal with the BBC.

Now the London fighter has to put on a suit, somehow reacquire the charm that captivated a nation at the Sydney Olympics and start negotiating a new contract with the corporation. Draskovic was victim No 10 from a carefully prepared secret list of losers and Harrison's next job will be far more difficult than Saturday's shift in the ring, but the BBC will agree a deal.

Poor old Draskovic never stood a chance and for two rounds his fists never left his face. Nevertheless, they were inadequate protection against his opponent's jab. Harrison actually looked a bit nervous in the opening rounds but surely that had more to do with this week's negotiations and nothing whatsoever to do with the prospect of the Serbian ending his winning streak.

In many ways it was a faultless performance from the 31-year-old, but when it was obvious from about round three that Draskovic had nothing more than a cagey defence, Harrison could and should have increased the pace. Caution is an overrated virtue for heavyweights and the public is not stupid.

Harrison's next fight will be against Matthew Ellis in May and he will enjoy a weight advantage of nearly 50lb and tower over Ellis by nearly six inches. Oddly, it could still be the biggest test of his career so far because the Blackpool fighter can, as they say in boxing, whack.

A year ago, at a press conference that ran out of steam and descended into silence, the promoter Frank Warren issued a challenge to Harrison to fight Ellis for £500,000. That was shortly before Ellis was stopped by an obscure Russian and his contract with Warren terminated.

On Saturday night, Harrison took great glee in reminding everybody that Ellis had been good enough the previous year for Warren to issue his outlandish challenge. Just for a moment there was a cheeky twinkle in his eye, one that has been missing since the entourage he employs have surrounded him and celebrated his every word.

The real problem for Harrison is not what he is doing in the ring but what he is failing to do at the box office. Once the BBC deal has been signed, the priority of his team should be to raise his profile once again.

There has finally been a significant shift of opinion and now his critics have stopped wondering if he can fight and instead are asking what will happen if he gets hit on the chin. It is a small step towards acceptance and there is just a chance that Ellis will provide the answer when they meet in May.