The United States Congress has introduced a bipartisan bill that would create new legislation targeted toward the sport of boxing.
The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act would create Unified Boxing Organizations (UBOs) that would serve as alternative systems to the alphabet sanctioning organizations that currently govern the sport — the WBA, IBF, WBC, and WBO. The bill would allow a UBO to run events, as well as award its own championships and control its own rankings independent of those of the sanctioning bodies. Fighters would be allowed to enter the professional ranks through either the UBO system or the current system with the sanctioning bodies.
ESPN notes that the bill also require boxers to be compensated $150 per round. According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, most states don’t have required minimums, and six states that do have theirs set below $150.
The bill was introduced by Congressman Brian Jack of Georgia and Sharice Davids, a Republican and Democrat, respectively. Davids has competed in two MMA fights professionally, while Jack has been a long-time fan of boxing.
“To me, boxing is dying in America,” Rep. Jack told ESPN. “Every metric would affirm it’s in a steady decline. Pay-per-view numbers are down, HBO and Showtime have exited the sport. ESPN’s deal with Top Rank Promotions is expiring in August. The ambiguity of current regulations have stifled U.S. investments and we are proposing a bipartisan solution.”
Top Rank Boxing’s card this Saturday, July 26, will mark the final on ESPN since the two sides’ broadcasting agreement began back in 2017. Following this event, no major U.S. broadcaster will have boxing on their network.
Bipartisan Boxing Bill Introduced In U.S. Congress Draws Split Reactions Among Boxing Community
Rep. Jack added on, telling Mike Coppinger of Ring Magazine: “The tenant that will generate the most interest is establishing a regulatory framework for alternative systems to exist. And our perspective, some of the greatest legal minds of Capital Hill’s perspective is that current law (‘96 Ali Act) is ambiguous and this law is needed to clarify whether or not unified boxing organizations can exist…”
The Act reportedly is intended to expand on the original Muhammad Ali Act, passed in 2000, which itself expanded on the 1996 Professional Boxing Safety Act. The Muhammad Ali Act made boxing the only professional sport regulated in the U.S. by Congress — and the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act would be the first piece of legislation since.
Various voices in the combat sports world — including BoxRec’s Grey Johnson, Erik Magraken of Combat Sports Law, and Patrick Stumberg of Bad Left Hook — have expressed concerns regarding the new bill, however.
Magraken, among the others, feel that such a bill opens the door to potential exploitation of fighters that has been prevalent in MMA.
“Boxers compete for titles. Promoters compete for boxers,” Makragen wrote on social media. “If promoters own and control titles then boxers can be exploited by promoters.”
He also notes that the bill requires “the boxer has access to equipment and facilities that are operated by the UBO for training and rehabilitation” — which immediately drew a comparison to the UFC Performance Institute.
In the wake of the bill’s news, the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association promoted a petition on its social media page, urging fighters to come forward and “please sign our petition in support of the real fighter protection bill—not the bill designed to exploit you and extend their monopoly to boxing.” This refers to expanding the original Muhammad Ali Act into MMA to end exploitations of fighters — their limitations, pay issues, and lack of benefits.
Also on that note, the timing of this bill is noteworthy, with TKO Boxing set to promote Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford this September in its first big event. TKO Boxing is led by Dana White, UFC CEO and President, and Turki Alalshikh, Chariman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. White has been a huge fan of boxing but previous ventures to become a promoter in the sport — most notably with Zuffa Boxing in 2017 — made no substantial progress.
A TKO spokesperson stated the following to ESPN: “We thank Rep. Jack and Rep. Davids for their vision in leading this bipartisan effort to bring innovation to the sport of boxing for the first time in 25 years. This is a thoughtful solution that preserves the original Ali Act of 2000 while providing boxers with access to more choices and opportunities, greater health and safety protections and better pay for up-and-coming fighters.
“We are proud to support the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act alongside the remarkable Lonnie Ali and the Association of Boxing Commissions in the effort to help restore boxing to its rightful place of prominence in America.”
In May, a five-tier pay structure for TKO Boxing was revealed that included boxer purses ranging from $20,000 for unranked boxers, to $750,000 for the promotion’s champions.
Sports Illustrated adds that the bill will also set a $25,000 health coverage minimum for injuries sustained during a fight, a total that is higher than the minimums set in 43 states. In UBOs, fighters who get injured during training would also receive health coverage.
There would reportedly also be stringent anti-doping testing and anti-betting policies fighters would be required to follow. Fighters, however, would not be required to pay sanctioning fees.
When describing what the model would look like for TKO Boxing, in its introductory March press conference, White stated: “Everybody knows the format—the best fight the best,” White said in March. “You work your way up the rankings, and once somebody breaks into the top five [and] there is no question [about] who the best five guys are in each weight class, they fight it out. And once somebody holds that belt, you don’t need three letters in front of the belt. Whoever has that belt is the best in the world in that weight class. It’s a very simple model.”
Stumberg, however, has pointed out various recent times in which this was not always the case, the most prominent being the Jon Jones-Tom Aspinall saga, as well as Sean O’Malley recent bantamweight title shot against Merab Dvalishvili — with O’Malley receiving a title rematch despite not fighting since the loss (while Dvalishvili had to go through a title defense against Umar Nurmagomedov).
As noted, the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) and Lonnie Ali, the wife of the late Muhammad Ali, have both voiced their support of the bill.
“The sport of boxing provided a pathway for Muhammad to become a global sports and cultural icon,” Lonnie Ali said. “Boxing elevated his public platform and gave voice to his fight for civil rights. If Muhammad was with us today, he would want to ensure the sport of boxing in America remained strong and viable for generations to come, providing opportunities for other athletes to pursue their goals and dreams, just like he did.
“Given its enhanced protections for boxers, I believe Muhammad would be proud to have his name associated with this bill.”
Congress is set to be in recess for August, so the bill will most likely be acted upon by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in the fall.
