Burton, Stone square off tonight

Kalispell's Shelley Burton battles Seattle's Dakota Stone for the North American Boxing Federation Women's Middleweight Championship at Majestic Valley Arena tonight.

If it seems the fight has been brewing for months it's because it has been. Burton and Stone were scheduled to fight in March, but the match was postponed when Stone tore an abdominal muscle while training.

Stone pronounced herself healthy Friday and hopes to spoil Burton's homecoming in the 10-round bout.

The fighters were congenial Friday, grinning while posing for photos during their official weigh-in at Kalispell Athletic Club. That camaraderie will soon be a distant memory.

The 5-foot-10 Stone has an edge in height and weight (159) over Burton (157.4), but Burton doesn't expect those tangibles to be a disadvantage.

"I've fought girls that are taller," Burton said. "I have a harder time fighting girls that are smaller, or my size or lower, because I train with the guys at the gym, and they're taller."

Burton won't have trouble drawing inspiration.

"Fighting in your hometown, you've got hundreds of people behind you and it pumps you up more than if you were in a town where they didn't even know you," Burton said. "The more people the better - I get more excited and more pumped up."

Stone isn't intimidated by fighting for a championship in Burton's backyard.

"It's all about skills in the ring," Stone said. "I've been in the ring with a lot of world champions and done well with everybody."

Burton has an 8-2 professional record, but she knows Stone (7-4-3) won't be a pushover.

"I think it's gonna be a good fight," Burton said. "Most likely, it will go 10 rounds - we're both strong fighters - unless we get a lucky shot in here or there. But I don't see myself going down on the canvas at all."

Though the fighters have been training for about six months, Burton and Stone aren't sure what to expect.

"I don't know much of Dakota's style," Burton said. "I know that she's a good boxer - she can hold her own. She's been doing this longer than I have. It's a very fair matchup. It's going to be an excellent fight."

Stone offered a similar assessment of tonight's action, but she and Burton clearly envision different outcomes.

"I just think it's gonna be a great fight and we're really looking forward to it," Stone said. "We're really excited - (my trainer and I) trained hard for this and we plan on coming here to win, despite the crowd or anything else that's going on."

Stone will attack Burton, but she's doesn't plan to beat her by standing toe-to-toe and trading blows.

"I'm probably more of a finesse boxer and she's probably more of a slug-'em fighter," Stone said.

While Burton versus Stone will be the main event, the undercard features a blend of amateur and professional bouts, highlighted by Kalispell's Terrance Crow versus Butte's Matt Palmer.

That fight will be Palmer's professional debut and only Crow's second professional fight, but both boxers created a buzz in the amateur ranks and should put on an exciting show.

"I haven't seen (Palmer) fight live - I've seen some tape on him a couple months ago," Crow said. "He looks like he's a pretty tough kid."

The 162-pound Crow shares Burton's excitement in boxing in front of his home crowd.

"It's great - I've fought 50-something fights and this is probably the biggest fight of my life," Crow said. "A pro fight in front of your hometown - it doesn't get any better than that."

Crow was succinct when discussing his plans for Palmer.

"I think I'm gonna take him out in the second round," Crow said.