Two Women’s Bouts in Rochester – Photos/Story by Sue TL Fox

I arrived at about 11:00 am at the Lucky Eagle Casino, in Rochester, Washington.  I was surprised to see Dakota Stone, and her manager sitting on the benches.  I asked Stone if she was fighting, and she told me that she was scheduled to  fight Stacy Taylor.  There was a slight problem with the match.

Taylor outweighed Stone over ten pounds, so Taylor was out running to try and take off enough weight to be re-weighed before the fight was a go.  Stone weighed in at 153, and when Taylor came back into the weigh-in area, she weighed in at 166.  (The fight was up in the air when I left the weigh-in. I found out later that Taylor’s final weight was 164. Stone took the fight. )

I waited for Bambi Bertoncello to weigh-in before interviewing her. I did ask her where Susan McDaniel, who is out of Boise, Idaho, was at, and she said that McDaniel was still on her flight to arrive.  I did not see McDaniel.

Bambi, who is (1-1)  weighed in at 131 1/4 lbs. She told me that Susan McDaniel was anticipated at weighing in at 137 lbs.  Of what Bambi knew about McDaniel, she told me that McDaniel was 0-1.

Dakota Stone, 31 years old,  (0-1) as a pro, and (12-1) as an amateur— had to take this fight… She gave up the weight and went for it because she had had a four-month lay off, after her pro debut ended in a loss with Ann Wolfe last October 9th.  The funny thing about that fight between Dakota and Wolfe was that it was a great four-round bout and one of the best fights on the card—but, to Dakota, it was a disappointment.

Dakota was determined to get back into the ring to get her boxing career on track.    She was matched at the last minute with a fighter by the name of Stacy Taylor.  Taylor,  a 28-year old boxer out of Dupont, Washington, was making her pro debut, but was an ex-pro basketball player and a very accomplished athletic.  Her trainer was infamous Sugar Ray Seals, the Olympic Gold medalist from the 70’s who fought the likes of Marvin Hagler and many other top male boxers.

In the first round,  Stone tries to box Taylor, but Taylor follows Stone around the ring, attempting to brawl and throw haymakers–more than box. Stone seems determined to box Taylor.  Both end up in the corner, exchanging hard punches and the crowd goes wild.  The second round, Taylor still tries to set the pace by throwing wild mis-directed punches, but shows that she has the heart and goes all the way, even though she is making her first appearance as a pro boxer.

Stone begins to get her combinations together and displays the qualities she has learned as an amateur, and applying it now to her professional fighting abilities.  Taylor begins to tire, dropping her hands on occasion, but still tries to maintain pressure on Stone. Taylor at one point is against the ropes, her feet flat-footed, and her knees hyper-extended.

The third round,    Stone picks up the pace with good combinations, but her punches are glancing. She gets some good solid body punches in while having Taylor spinned on the ropes.  Taylor begins to clinch Stone, to gain some time to energize herself.  She appears tired, but still determined to fight her best.  The fourth and final round, both are throwing a lot of punches, but the accuracy is not there. Stone has Taylor in the corner against the ropes near the end of the round, and Taylor continues to hang on to her.

After the final bell rings, Stone knows that she has won this fight.  She is excited and jumps up onto the ropes with a victory sign.  The fight went to Stone 40-36, unanimous decision.  Stone is now 1-1, and Taylor fell to 0-1.

After the fight, I interviewed Stone.  I asked Stone  how she felt about the fight.  Stone said, “I feel so much better now.  She (Taylor) was a warrior.  I will fight her again any day.”  I asked her what it was like to give up so much weight for the fight. Stone told me, “We were wearing 10 ounce gloves, I didn’t notice it.”  She also said that, “I just want to fight as often as I can.”