‘Big’ John McCarthy Elected as Boxing Judge by Nevada Athletic Commission By Mike Sloan

John McCarthy, the most recognizable and longest-tenured referee in all of American mixed martial arts, will take the next step in his professional career in the coming weeks. At a meeting with the Nevada Athletic Commission Wednesday morning in Las Vegas, the commissioners voted unanimously to elect “Big” John as a professional boxing judge.



Though McCarthy is known almost primarily as a referee, the retired Los Angeles law enforcement agent has acted as a cageside judge for many smaller events throughout the years. But with the NAC approving him to be a ringside judge for professional boxing in Nevada, he’ll have much more on his plate.



McCarthy, who has long been considered to be as great an official as there is across the country, immediately adds some much-needed credibility to a commission that has been languishing under scrutiny and suffering from an almost unshakeable image of ineptitude. The move also runs perpendicular with Tony Weeks, one of boxing’s greatest all-around referees, who has been sitting the judge’s seat for MMA and kickboxing for several years.



There was no announcement as to when McCarthy’s first assignment as a boxing judge for the NAC will be.