October has been a slow month for boxing in the U.S., but don't mistake that for decay. Instead, boxing is simply moving its base of operations to another continent. Bounding over the Atlantic, action has been hot and heavy, especially in Great Britain where a big domestic clash is brewing between Tony Bellew and David Haye.

Entering the ring in a T-shirt that said "RIP Mike Towell" in honor of the recently deceased Scottish fighter, Bellew looked like a star as he retained the WBC cruiserweight belt in Liverpool's Echo Arena this past Saturday night. He thrashed American BJ Flores, perhaps best known for his commentary on NBC boxing matches, and displayed the kind of charisma and promotional skill that is born, not taught. 

The action was hot and heavy while it lasted, with neither man seemingly particularly concerned with defensive nuance. Flores hit the canvas three times in round two and again in round three before the fight was finally stopped by the referee. Across the internet, the hardcore boxing fandom was, for once, united in their glee. Flores made no friends with his pointed dismissal of the popular Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez last year, and the community came together to let him hear about it in a cruel, hilarious fashion. 

Bellew, 27-2-1 (18 KOs), by contrast, had little to say about Flores post-fight. Instead, he turned his attention to someone at ringside. That someone, former cruiserweight champion/heavyweight belt holder David Haye, seemed more amused than authentically concerned, even after Bellew chose to climb through the ropes and charge towards him, yelling "I'm going to smash you." 

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The pull-apart was straight out of pro wrestling, but it still managed to build what seems like a natural contest between the two for the first half of 2017. Haye plans on fighting again soon against an opponent to be determined. The famed "Hayemaker" would be capable of filling an arena opposite Bellew and it would be a spirited contest. It was a blueprint for fight promotion and a bout that has suddenly become one of the most anticipated in the entire sport.

Notes

• Friday evening, FloBoxing presented a card from Hamburg, Germany featuring another duo at the crowded 200-pound weight limit. Noel Gevor (22-0) found himself in a tough fight with Scottish boxer Stephen Simmons (15-2). Simmons was a late replacement, coming into this bout on just 10 days notice, but still managed to apply lots of pressure to Gevor and make the bout deeply uncomfortable. Gevor's superior movement and accuracy got him the close split-decision nod, keeping him undefeated and getting him one step closer to a world title opportunity. While Simmons lost, he gave a good enough showing to keep him relevant and perhaps receive some future opportunities.
  

• Last year, Erkan Teper capitalized on the opportunity of a lifetime, defeating David Price for the European heavyweight championship. That success however, was fleeting. He wound up losing a 12-round decision to Euro gatekeeper Christian Hammer on Saturday. Hammer, a former Romanian amateur champion, outworked Teper over the championship rounds. Teper looked less than outstanding in a prior effort against Derric Rossy, and this fight further shunts him down the ladder.
  

• An even more precipitous drop befell former IBF middleweight champ Daniel Geale, who after a 16-month layoff following his KO loss to Miguel Cotto at MSG stepped into the ring to take on the unheralded 10-1 Renold Quinlan. It was supposed to be an easy night and a chance to obtain a belt at super middleweight. Instead, the fight went nowhere near according to plan, and Geale was knocked out in the second round. Geale was uncertain about retirement, though it seems likely. Quinlan, suddenly a minor star, has a number of domestic challengers to face in Australia, and his future should be, at least momentarily, bright.