Harrison has suffered plenty of criticism over the past two years

The former Olympic super-heavyweight champion has been criticised for the poor quality of his opponents so far - but his manager says he will take on one of the country's best boxers in the near future.

Harrison is to fight Yugoslavian heavyweight Ratko Draskovic on 29 March in his 10th professional contest.

Providing the 31-year-old wins that fight, a match against a top British heavyweight such as Michael Sprott or Mark Potter is not out of the question.

"We're looking to fight a British top 10 heavyweight in his next fight (after Draskovic)," Harrison's manager Colin McMillan told BBC Sport.

Draskovic has never been stopped and is very durable Colin McMillan

"From a boxing perspective, Audley is over the hard part - he has been through phase one of his career and from now on the fights will be harder and the opponents better and hopefully people will be happier."

McMillan believes the unknown Draskovic will be a necessary part of the Harrison learning process.

"He has been around and he's been the distance with Sinan Samil Sam, who recently beat Danny Williams," said McMillan.

"He is an experienced pro who has also beaten Joesph Chingangu, who beat Herbie Hide a couple of years ago. He has got credible opponents on his record."

Draskovic has been picked specifically to take Harrison into unknown territory.

"It will be nice [for Harrison] to go eight rounds," McMillan said.

"Draskovic has never been stopped and is very durable."

McMillan rejected the criticisms of Harrison's choice of opponents.

"What I always say is it's all about development. Audley has had to do his learning in the spotlight - people criticise his technique but also people are coming round to the fact that he's learning.

"He's not the finished article but I'm happy and satisfied that everything is coming together.

"Ideally, you want to move him as fast you can - but there is no shortcut to becoming a world champion. The quicker he develops, the quicker he can move on."

Danny's a world class level fighter and he should be aiming to become a world champion McMillan

McMillan also had words of encouragement for Danny Williams, who was decisively beaten recently by Sinan Samil Sam in a European title fight.

"Danny's a world-class level fighter and he should be aiming to become a world champion.

"He should be aiming to get a rematch with Sam.

"But if his ambition is to wait for Audley I think that is a disaster waiting to happen. When you wait for an opponent, that is when you can lose your edge."