Boxing Reform: A New Beginning or a Disguised Risk?
The United States Congress is considering significant federal reforms that, according to its proponents, would improve the health protection of boxers, increase their income, and reverse the decline in the sport’s popularity. However, critics warn that the bill could weaken key provisions of existing federal regulations, benefiting large promoters. The “Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act” has passed crucial stages. The House of Representatives approved the bill by voice vote on Tuesday, following its approval by the House Education and Labor Committee in January. The lack of opposition in a generally divided Congress suggests a favorable path in the Senate. If the bill is approved in the Senate and, given Dana White’s, of UFC, closeness to former President Donald Trump, it has a high probability of becoming law. The current laws regulating boxing, the “Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act” of 2000 and the “Professional Boxing Safety Act” of 1996, have been criticized for their vagueness and lack of uniform enforcement. States like California, New York, and Texas often have to apply their own regulations, leading to an inconsistent set of rules, especially in matters of health and safety. Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, close to White, supported the revisions to the new “Revival Act” in December, citing mandatory medical insurance requirements. He stated that some promoters have used loopholes in the current law to “regain monopolistic control over boxers’ careers.” The influential California State Athletic Commission also unanimously endorsed the bill, despite opposition from boxers and other stakeholders during public hearings. USA Boxing, the governing body for amateur boxing in the United States, initially supported the bill, but withdrew its support last month in favor of a neutral position. Many current promoters and sanctioning bodies have expressed concern about the bill. The current Ali law, in effect since 2000, would not change. The “Revival Act” would create the option of a unified boxing organization to complement what is currently available to boxers.Unified Boxing Organizations: What Are They and Why Do They Matter?
The most drastic change in the legislation is the addition of unified boxing organizations as an “alternative system for compliance.” This would allow an organization to be a one-stop shop for boxers, from promotion to ranking and sanctioning fights, similar to what already exists in the UFC. Under the proposed legislation, an OBU would not depend on any of the main independent boxing sanctioning bodies (WBC, WBO, IBF and WBA) for belts or rankings. In January, White described Zuffa Boxing, the new boxing promotion he helped create along with Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. White runs it, describing it as “a work in progress.” It is widely believed that if the “Revival Act” becomes law, White would create an OBU. White previously said he didn’t want to work with the sanctioning bodies that currently control boxing’s rankings and belt system. The change of heart came after Zuffa’s most important signing, former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, said he wanted to become undisputed champion, meaning he would hold all four current major belts at once. An OBU would move away from the current system, which created a separation of powers between promoters and sanctioning bodies regarding the control of rankings, fight organization, and titles. It also prohibited employees of boxing commissions from working for promoters and sanctioning bodies, as well as for managers. However, the legislation prohibits an OBU from also being the boxer’s manager if the fighter chooses to hire one.Concerns about OBUs
The current Ali Act prohibits “coercive contracts” and created disclosure rules that force promoters to reveal how much money they received from a fight night to provide transparency. It established contractual requirements between boxers and promoters, separated the promotion and management of a boxer, required consistent ranking criteria for professional boxers, and required the publication of changes in a boxer’s ranking. Pat English, a lawyer who helped draft the 1996 and 2000 boxing legislation, told Congress in December that the “Revival Act” is “a betrayal of current law” because it would not provide OBU boxers with similar protections against coercive contracts and promoter disclosure, and does not require a written explanation of the ranking system.Bob Arum, president of Top Rank, also wrote a letter to Congress in December expressing his concern about the addition of OBUs. “The Amendment eliminates these and other protections for boxers established in the Ali Act for any boxer who signs with a newly created Unified Boxing Organization…”, wrote Arum. “As drafted, the conditions required for an entity to qualify as an OBU do not include the protections for boxers previously established.” Arum wrote that “there is no reason for an OBU to be exempt” from complying with the same measures that non-OBUs must comply with.There is no justifiable reason for a different language regarding the firewall between promoters and managers established by the Muhammad Ali Act and the proposed revision.
Pat English
How could the “Revival Act” favor certain promoters?
The greater the financial backing, the greater the chances of success. If a single promoter could hire the vast majority of boxers, they could become a dominant controlling body, from rankings to title opportunities and payment to boxers, using an OBU. It’s similar to how the UFC became the premier MMA promotion in the world, synonymous with the sport itself. The UFC essentially acts as the major leagues in MMA, similar to the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB in their respective sports. Boxing doesn’t have an organization like that. MMA, where White gained his prominence through the UFC, is not governed by the Ali Act. The late Senator John McCain, a former supporter of the Ali Act, attempted to expand the law to MMA in 2007, but the UFC opposed it and McCain’s effort failed. Then-Representative Markwayne Mullin, a former MMA fighter who is the newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security, attempted the same in 2016, but his attempt also failed. Mauricio Sulaimán, WBC president, wrote an open letter to the boxing community in January and accused “a powerful entity valued in billions of dollars” of trying to enter boxing and dominate it.White believes that the provisions of the new law, which would allow an organization to function more like the UFC does, are a different way of approaching how the sport operates. White said in a press conference prior to his first Zuffa Boxing event: “They were very worried about the Muhammad Ali Act, all these other things. None of that is going to change for them. Nothing is going to change. We are not going to change a word of that, it’s going to be intact. Now the fighters are going to have more options. Why is that a bad thing? Why are more options a bad thing? They are not.”His goal of altering the boxing landscape in the pursuit of profit cannot be ignored, and it must be seen for what it is: an attempt to seize the people’s sport, which should not be owned or dominated by a single entity.
Mauricio Sulaimán
Will the new bill improve or harm the payment to boxers?
Supporters of the bill point to the increase in minimums per round that boxers will receive and that could elevate everyone except the top class of boxers. Detractors look at the UFC, which has been sued several times for wage suppression, and express concern about the degree of control an organization could have. Eddie Hearn, CEO of Matchroom, told Boxing Scene in July that the Ali Act in its current form “is almost always there to protect the boxer and make sure they are not taken advantage of.” Any possible alteration through this new bill, he said, could give promoters more power over boxers. Under the current structure, the best boxers can earn hundreds of millions of dollars and have the opportunity to receive large portions of their fight earnings. For example, Sportico reported that Tyson Fury and Oleksander Usyk earned more than $100 million each for their two fights against each other. In this system, boxers also pay a percentage of their purse to one of the sanctioning bodies, a problem that has caused consternation with renowned boxers like Terence Crawford and Shakur Stevenson in the last year. An OBU would not be allowed to charge sanctioning fees. High-level female boxers in the last five years have seen seven-figure salaries, in contrast to previous years when they received little money even for title fights. However, the vast majority of boxers earn much less money than the top tier, especially after managers’ and trainers’ fees are deducted from a paycheck. The law could help lower-level boxers with a minimum of $200 per round to provide some low-level financial guarantees for the boxers. Renowned shows feature boxers earning six-figure checks, according to financial data from the California State Athletic Commission, including a $1 million payout for WBO junior lightweight titleholder Emmanual Navarette. However, many smaller MMA and boxing shows did not have boxers earning more than $10,000. If a boxer does not have a fight for a period of six months, they will receive compensation of $2,000. A boxer would not receive this if they are collecting insurance money for an injury or if the boxer declines a fight. The bill’s detractors, including many of the current prominent boxing promoters, see the bill as a way for the promotional giant TKO Group Holdings, which encompasses the UFC and WWE, to bypass the current system that protects boxers. Some argue that the bill will end up limiting rather than improving the payment to boxers. The UFC has faced accusations in the past of underpaying boxers. It resolved a historic antitrust lawsuit in 2024 for $375 million. Thomas Hauser of The Guardian obtained a contract for a Zuffa fighter and reported that the contract gave the organization the ability to use a fighter’s “identity” to promote Zuffa and Zuffa’s sponsors’ products. Fighters would receive an unclear percentage. In the present day, boxers often sell sponsorship space on their fight trunks, shirts, and caps. According to The Guardian, Zuffa fighters can only use equipment and gear approved by Zuffa, which could cost fighters money in lost sponsorship opportunities. This is similar to the UFC model.Are there medical care provisions for boxers?
Boxers are often on their own for medical attention from now on, unless it is written in contracts with promoters for their fights. Promoters must have a minimum of $10,000 in medical insurance and $10,000 in accidental death benefits for injuries sustained during fights; the Association of Boxing Commissions recommends $100,000 in health and accidental death benefits per boxer. Boxers must pass a pre-fight physical examination certified in writing to the state commission stating that the boxer is able to safely compete. Women must also provide documentation of a negative pregnancy test less than two weeks before a fight. A doctor must be present at ringside and an ambulance and emergency personnel present at the venue. Otherwise, pre- and post-fight medical tests vary by state commissions, which may require stricter procedures. According to the “Revival Act”, all boxers would be required to undergo annual medical examinations, including an annual physical exam along with brain, eye, and heart exams and blood tests every six months, along with the pregnancy test already required for female boxers. In addition, it requires brain MRIs “at least every three years” and more frequent testing if a boxer is knocked out. OBUs would have to cover the costs. It is not clear who is responsible for non-OBU boxers. If a boxer is over 40 years old and fights in an OBU, they must undergo blood and urine tests annually and a chest X-ray at least once every six years. State boxing commissions have their own rules for those over 40, including neurological tests. The OBU must cover costs and provide training and rehabilitation facilities for boxers, medical insurance during training periods, and medical coordinators to assist with requirements. It must also cover the costs of any anti-doping program tests incurred during training for a fight. The boxer still has responsibilities for the deductibles of the medical insurance provided by the OBU. Drug tests will also be required for any title fight and “at random for all other fights”.Could states continue to impose their own regulations?
The bill does not contain prohibitions on state regulations, as long as they comply with the Ali Act’s baselines. States could also determine whether to allow a fight based on their own standards.What other important changes would this bill add?
The bill would allow the Association of Boxing and Combat Sports Commissions and the Ringside Physicians Association to create consistent standards across the sport, including a model of legislation and regulation that protects the “safety, health, well-being, and economic opportunity” of boxers, strict authority guidelines for medical suspension, and consensus statements from sports medicine experts. The ABC has minimal powers and is primarily responsible for making recommendations to state commissions. The ABC has no enforcement powers over the states. I would also create best practice recommendations along with annual compliance reports from boxing commissions that adhere to those best practices. The ABC would also be allowed to certify judges or officials for the fights along with the state commissions. In the existing law, only state commissions have that power.The “Revival Act” could also streamline titles. According to the current system, some sanctioning bodies hand out belts like candy instead of a champion per weight class. The “Revival Act” says that “a sanctioning organization or unified boxing organization shall award only 1 championship title for each weight class”. There is an exception for interim titles in cases of injury, illness, refusal to defend a belt, or inability to travel. This could stop delays in some weight categories where boxers do not defend belts for months or, in some cases, more than a year.I wanted to make sure the ABC was included in the federal law. I wanted to make sure the safety of the boxers was paramount and I wanted to make sure the judges and referees were trained. I wanted to make sure there were minimum payments for the boxers.
Mike Mazzulli
