McDonough MBAs Duke It Out For Charity in Boxing Tourney
More than 300 Georgetown Evening MBA students, alumni and guests packed the Sphinx Club for Georgetown’s first annual McDonough Fight Night– an event showcasing six fights between members of Georgetown’s student boxing clubs. The event raised over $5,600 for International Justice Mission (IJM), an organization that helps protect the poor from violence in 20 communities throughout the developing world.
“I’d seen it done by undergraduate institutions with a lot of success,” Doug Grant, a second-year MBA student who conceived the idea for Fight Night, said. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we tried to have MBA students who were boxers that could participate?’”
Grant found sponsors like Prudential Mortgage Capital Company and was even able to get the United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association to sanction the fights. All 12 of the boxers who fought at Fight Night were either undergraduate students or JD or MBA candidates at Georgetown and all fights counted toward the boxers’ individual amateur records.
“Everything was set up professionally, just as if you had gone to Vegas to see an exhibition fight,” Carla Kochalski, an evening program student, said. “Everyone was dressed for the night. They looked absolutely amazing.”
Laura Macrorie, a second-year MBA student in the evening program, beat Janie Rosales in the headlining fight. Macrorie started boxing about five years ago because of an interest in self-defense and individual empowerment. was touched by the supportive nature of the Georgetown community at fight night.
“On one hand, the more people I knew who registered, the more nervous I got because I wanted to compete well. On the other hand, I felt such overwhelming support, not only support for my personal physical and competitive goals, but support for this great cause, which was what it was all about,” she said. “And it’s always good to know you have friends who will support you when life literally punches you in the face.”
“Next year is going to be bigger and better,” said Grant. “I see this as the first step for a really big charity that I hope McDonough becomes known for going forward that really has national recognition in terms of MBA charities.”
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Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
