Manchester's 23-year-old British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Tyson Fury survived a second round scare while defending his Commonwealth title against previously undefeated challenger Neven Pajkic, the reigning Canadian heavyweight champion. Despite a 6'' height advantage, a nine inch reach advantage and 25 lbs in weight over his opponent, Fury was floored for the first time in his two-year - 17 bout pro career, but stormed back to stop his rival in the third round. 

One could almost hear the cries of ''Timmmberrrr!!!'' from the seasoned sportswriters at ringside when 6'9" 257 lb Fury crashed to the canvas in the second round courtesy of a looping overhand right delivered by the wild swinging Pajkic. Up to that point, Fury had been winning the fight as he pleased and dominating with his ramrod, pole-like left jab.

Pajkic, Serbian born but based in Canada throughout his three year professional career, had been revealed to be one of the crudest brawlers to top a boxing bill in Britain for decades. Pajkic's tactic seemed to be to rush toward Fury - face down, looking at the canvas, swinging punches like a windmill. It is a level of pugilistic skill one would see on any given day in any junior school across Britain, but one we are unaccustomed to seeing inside a boxing ring. Bluntly put – Pajkic was awful! He appears to know not even the rudiments of boxing, and I suspect he has no desire to learn.

Possibly because Fury realized that just how atrocious Pajkic was as a fighter, he took his eye off the ball long enough for his opponent to connect with a wild overhand right midway through the second round which landed flush on Fury's jaw and dropped him heavily. Fury looked more surprised than hurt as he got awkwardly back to his feet to receive an eight count.

Then, as the Canadian-based Serbian brawler desperately attempted to land the coup-de-grace, Fury proceeded to show the survival instincts that will stand him in excellent stead on his quest to win the world heavyweight title. 

Legendary trainer Jimmy Tibbs has stated that how a fighter reacts to being knocked down or badly hurt in the ring is purely instinctive and cannot be taught. Few top fighters in ring history have had worse survival instincts than Britain's own former WBC heavyweight champion Frank Bruno, who would simply stand still and drop his guard when he received a powerful blow to the jaw that scrambled his senses. 

People used to say that Bruno's chin was suspect, when in reality it was fine. Whether he was being knocked out by James ''Bonecrusher'' Smith, Tim Witherspoon, Mike Tyson or Lennox Lewis, they all had to belt big Frank on the jaw repeatedly with right-hand bombs before he would hit the canvas. Bruno's chin was fine - it was his survival instincts that were terrible.

When Fury got back on his feet and Pajkic moved in to finish him off, his instinct was to grab his opponent and tie him up, stifling his attack. The Canadian was therefore unable to capitalize on his window of opportunity. Each time Pajkic tried to launch another attack, Fury tied him up again. As the seconds ticked away, Fury's head cleared and he survived the round with his unbeaten record intact.

Fury came out for the third round looking for some payback. Almost immediately he started hurting Pajkic with his shots, and one ungainly combination sent him crashing to the canvas. The Canadian was on his feet in seconds, but Fury soon had him over a second time with more clubbing blows. Pajkic got back on his feet, but another flurry of punches caused referee Phil Edwards to jump in and stop the fight, somewhat prematurely in this writer's opinion. 

I had predicted a third-round knockout win for Fury, but I feel that Pajkic should have been allowed to continue. So furious was the Canadian that the fight had been stopped but he actually shoved referee Edwards in the chest. Pajkic angrily furiously over at the jubilant, celebrating Fury and his camp, and I wondered briefly if the action might have been resumed sometime later on that evening in the Event City car park! 

Fury raised his record to 17-0 with twelve KOs, while Pajkic saw his slate slip to 16-1 (5 KOs).

Saturday night's fight revealed two important things about Tyson Fury, his progress and his shortcomings:

A) He is nowhere near good enough at the moment to challenge either of the Klitschko brothers, nor is he ready right now for the likes of WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin or top contenders like Chris Arreola, Robert Helenius, Eddie Chambers or Denis Boytsov. The tabloid press should back off from consistently matching the young giant with either IBF/WBA/WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko or WBC champ Vitali. If a match were to be made with either brother right now, the beating Fury would no doubt take would set him back years, or even destroy his confidence for good.  

B) Fury should not be fighting opponents as poor as Neven Pajkic at this stage of his career. Fury entered the ring with a soft, pudgy appearance to his physique which had not been the case for his last few fights, and reflected a poor training camp. He looked distracted and lacking in focus from the opening bell.

Clearly Fury was aware that this was an opponent in which he was going to learn nothing whatsoever from, had no respect for, nor fear of (despite his appearance and brawling style, Pajkic lacks genuine power, with only five stoppage wins in his career). Boxing is a dangerous game, and fighters need to enter the ring in a heightened state of alert for their own safety. It was not for nothing that none other than the great Cus D'Amato, legendary trainer of Mike Tyson would tell his fighters that ''fear was their best friend.''

If Fury's manager Mick Hennessy cannot find him better opposition in the future, maybe Fury should start looking for a manager who can. Just a quick glance at boxrec's top 25 heavyweights reveals a host of potential Fury opponents - ex-champs and former contenders - quality opponents that the Manchester giant could actually learn from. 

Importing a raw novice with an unbeaten record like Pajkic achieved nothing more than to give a wild swinging brawler a golden opportunity to gatecrash the world rankings on the back of knocking out Britain's best young heavyweight prospect. Fury will possibly never ever fight someone as wild and lacking in technique as the Canadian again in his entire career, so he has in effect been knocked down and learned nothing whatsoever in the process. 

Had he boxed someone of the caliber of Michael Grant, Monte Barrett, Oliver McCall or Juan Carlos Gomez, Fury would have entered the ring alert and ready, respectful of his opponent and their ability, and would have raised his own game appropriately. I believe he is capable of beating any of these fighters right now, and would not have lost concentration as he obviously did against Pajkic. 

Clearly Tyson Fury needs a step up in opposition to maintain his focus and concentration. Having said all of that, I would not be surprised at all if Mick Hennessy were to announce a Fury Pajkic rematch within the next few days.