Burton versus Laila Ali tonight

The Daily Inter Lake

Quite simply, Shelley Burton might feel Laila Ali's frustration.

The 28-year-old daughter of the great Muhammad Ali can't seem to get anyone to fight her.

The 30-year-old Burton went through the same thing as an amateur Club Boxer during the Montana State Tournaments of 2002 and 2003.

So Burton, the kid from little ol' Kalispell, is stepping up.

The dream of a lifetime, the fight of a lifetime, comes to fruition tonight in New York City's Madison Square Garden. Burton will fight Ali on the undercard of International Boxing Federation's world heavyweight championship bout between Wladimir Klitschko and Calvin Brock.

The Klitschko-Brock fight will be televised on HBO. But, although Ali is being featured heavily in advertising by MSG and the promoters, the Burton-Ali fight will not be televised. Highlights will be shown Saturday night after HBO replays last weekend's Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Carlos Baldomir Welterweight championship bout.

Burton would not comment on anything to The Daily Inter Lake.

Ali's comments have been published by many media outlets. She's said she is frustrated the bout won't be televised because she's been one of the main components for advertisers for the entire fight night. She's talked about how her weight makes it difficult to get good opponents and most of the opponents she does get, more often than not, pull out before the fight.

"I want to thank Shelley Burton for taking this fight," Ali said Thursday at a press conference.

"There are a lot of fighters out there that run their mouths about how they want to fight me, but when the contract is on the table they refuse to sign. Shelley and manager Butch Gottlieb agreed to this fight immediately and had no problem signing the contract. I have watched Shelley for a long time and I respect her and I know that if she didn't feel that she would and could win this fight she wouldn't have accepted it."

Burton normally fights one weight division lower than her celebrated opponent.

Ali is ranked as a Super middleweight (up to 168 pounds) and Light heavyweight (up to 175). Burton is ranked as a Middleweight (up to 160 pounds) and Junior middleweight (up to 154).

The two have just one common opponent and they faced her a month apart in the summer of 2004. Her name is Monica Nunez, IFBA's second-ranked middleweight. Burton fought her on June 26 and suffered a majority-decision loss in a six-round bout. A month later, on July 30, Ali fought Nunez for the WIBF Super middleweight title and TKO'd her in the ninth round of a 10-round bout.

Ali is the WBC Light heavyweight and WIBA Super middleweight champion of the world. She is also ranked as the top contender by the WBA and No. 2 contender by the IFBA as a Super middleweight.

Burton is the WIBA Middleweight Intercontinental champion. She won that last November in Edmonton when she beat Laura Ramsey. Although she holds the Intercontinental belt, she is ranked as the top contender by the WIBA to world champion Leatitia Robinson. She is also WBC's No. 3 contender to world champion Yvonne Reis, who she faced and TKO'd in the second round on June 3, 2004. (Reis won the vacanted belt on March 4 with a 10-round split decision, but faces Robinson on Dec. 2.)

Burton is also the top contender to WBA Junior middleweight world champion Giselle Salandy and is ranked as the No. 3 contender for the IFBA Junior middleweight title.

So what does this fight mean in regards to all that?

Well, since Burton is fighting at the higher weight division, she will not relinquish any of her rankings. And although Burton is not ranked in any of the Middleweight or Light heavyweight that Ali is ranked in, both of Ali's world championship belts are on the line. If Burton loses, the fight could result in her being ranked somewhere in those two weight classes, depending on her performance.

"I just want to thank Laila Ali for this opportunity," Burton said Thursday at a press conference.

"I have been training in Las Vegas with Don House and this is the best training camp that I have ever had. I am just looking forward to fighting in Madison Square Garden and to a great fight."

Tale of the tape

Shelley Burton (8-2-1, 2 KOs)

Born: Oct. 12, 1976, Kalispell

Height: 5 feet, 6 inches

Reach: n/a

Laila Ali (22-0, 19 KOs)

Born: Dec. 30, 1977, Miami

Height: 5 feet, 10 inches

Reach: 70 1/2 inches

Burton's professional career

date weight opponent (record) location W/L by rounds

July 11, 2003 148 Rita Turrisi (1-2) St. George, Utah W MD 4

Oct. 3, 2003 146 Angie Poe (0-1) Laughlin, Nev. W SD 4

Feb. 27, 2004 n/a Kelly Whaley (4-12) Salt Lake City W UD 4

June 3, 2004 160 Yvonne Reis (3-3-1) Lincoln City, Ore. W TKO 2

June 26, 2004 155 Monica Nunez (8-1) Las Vegas L MD 6

Jan. 29, 2005 158 Elizabeth Kerin (3-1-1) Las Vegas W UD 6

Feb. 26, 2005 158 Lisa Holewyne (22-13-1) Ferndale, Wash. W UD 6

March 26, 2005 154 Akondaye Fountain (4-0) Laughlin, Nev. L TKO 7

Nov. 18, 2005 157 Laura Ramsey (5-0) Edmonton, Alberta W MD 10

Feb. 28, 2006 n/a DJ Morrison (0-0) Kalispell W TKO 1

June 10, 2006 157 Dakota Stone (7-4-3) Kalispell D MDr 10

D-draw; MDr-majority draw; TKO-technical knockout; MD-majority decision; UD-unanimous decision; SD-split decision.

Burton's amatuer career

2002 Won Toughman Contest in Butte

2002 Club Boxing Montana State Champion (7-0, 2 KOs)

2003 Club Boxing Montana State Champion (17-0, 7 KOs)