Project Zebra - Fixing the Massachusetts Boxing Commission

April 23, 2004 -- Greetings fighters and fight fans! My name is Kevin MacDonald and, providing things over the next week or two run smoothly, I will be the first referee with an MMA background sanctioned by the Massachusetts Boxing Commission. This is something I have wanted to do for awhile, and, with the encouragement of the MASSMMA.COM crew, things are starting to come together. I have experience fighting, coaching, promoting, matchmaking, and refereeing, but this will be the first time it will be state sanctioned. Many of you know me, but for those who do not I'll give a quick background.

I am from here in Boston (Watertown, to be exact), but I began fighting MMA while living down in Houston, TX. It was there I began training with Yves Edwards back in 1998. I did not have a martial arts background outside of some Judo and Thai training. Most of my experience at that point had come from my enrollment at the FSU Brockton campus (Some of you will get that!). Training and fighting out of Texas allowed me to access and compete in all kinds of events ranging from submission grappling all the way to bare-knuckle full on NHB. I am fortunate enough to have spent time training with some of the best fighters and coaches in the world. These include Third Column, AMC Pankration, Din Thomas' crew, and NEBJJ with Joao Amaral. It's been about 3 years, a wedding, and 30 pounds since my last professional fight, but I can't say that I won't climb in there again in the future. As many of you know, it's a hard itch to scratch.

One thing that I think would really benefit the New England fight scene is some communication between the commission and the fighter/fan base. This is where MASSMMA.COM comes in. They will be setting up an email account where people can send comments, ask questions, or voice concerns to the most hated figure in all of sports...the referee! Hopefully, this will be a great place to address many issues that you may have in a respectful, professional environment. All I ask is that you keep things clean and allow me to respond before the name calling begins. I love this sport and hope that becoming a ref, as well as being available to questions and criticisms here on MASSMMA.COM will help to make Massachusetts known throughout the U.S as a great place to fight. Now, go back to your corners and come out swinging at the bell!

Kevin MacDonald

http://massmma.com/boxing-commission.htm





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