TKO-Backed Muhammad Ali Bill Aims to Shake Up Boxing World

U.S. Reps. Brian Jack (R-Ga.) and Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) on Wednesday introduced the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, a bill that would create alternative systems for boxers to seek guaranteed pay and obtain enhanced safety protections.

The bill would establish what are described as “alternative professional systems” for boxers. Central to this arrangement are “Unified Boxing Organizations” (UBOs), a name for organizations intended to offer boxers new ways to pursue their profession.

The bill follows advocacy efforts by TKO, the parent company of UFC and WWE, to stimulate interest in Congress for creating more and better professional opportunities for boxers in the U.S. As Sporticoreported in March, TKO has joined hands with Sela, an entertainment subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and Turki Alalshikh, the chair of the kingdom’s entertainment authority, to launch a new boxing promotion.

The bill would add to the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, a federal statute that was amended in 2000 through the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. This law set minimum nationwide safety standards and offered other benefits to pro boxers, such as requirements for medical personnel attending events. However, inconsistent enforcement mechanisms, ambiguities in the statutory language and other limitations have attracted the interest of reformers. 

“When you look at boxing as a whole,” Jack said in a phone interview, the sport in America is “dying.” He referenced HBO and Showtime dropping their boxing coverage in recent years, declines in pay-per-view buys of boxing events, and other developments that suggest boxing is struggling to maintain its footing with fans.

Jack, who served as White House Political Director during President Donald Trump’s first term and is one of five freshmen members of the House to chair a subcommittee, said professional boxing “is the only pro sport that is regulated by Congress.” As a result, he said Congress has a particularly important role in shaping the sport and “reviving” it. 

Jack and Davids, who is an attorney and former professional MMA fighter, have said these UBOs would supplement—not replace—current sanctioning organizations and run parallel to them. 

To that end, the World Boxing Council, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Organization and the International Boxing Federation would continue to oversee and schedule events as the major organizations for sanctioning pro boxing. UBOs would operate independently of those organizations and their events would be regulated by state athletic associations. 

The Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC)—which consists of state, provincial and tribal athletic commissions—endorses the bill. In a statement, ABC president Michael Mazzulli said his association’s board of directors offers “unanimous support” for the bill. He added that the bill will “mitigate the exploitation of the debut fighter.”

If it passes the House and Senate and is signed into law by Trump, the bill would increase the number of events for boxers and guarantee them $150 per round. While $150 might sound modest, some states guarantee lower amounts. In Pennsylvania, for example, a state statute expresses that, “no purse less than $50 shall be paid by the promoter to any professional boxer for any contest or exhibition other than a training exhibition.” Other states, including Connecticut, Michigan and Alabama, use $100, while most states have no minimum at all. In his statement, Mazzulli drew attention to the value of a “national minimum payment per round” standard.

Insurance coverage is also part of the bill. Boxers would have a first-time national minimum of $25,000 of coverage for injuries sustained during a bout. That dollar figure is, according to the bill’s sponsors, higher than the current minimum for boxers in 43 states.

In addition to minimum pay and insurance benefits, the bill would provide for annual medical exams and enhanced testing, including MRIs. Meanwhile, higher minimums for the number of licensed physicians and ambulance units present at events would ensure boxers have immediate access to care.

UBOs are intended mainly for new and developing boxers. More seasoned and well-known boxers, including those paid millions of dollars in fight purses, are less likely to be attracted to a new model. The bill would not force them to change their situation as they could continue to fight as they had been doing.

Lonnie Ali, the widow of the late Muhammad Ali and co-founder of the Muhammad Ali Center, endorsed the bill in a statement. She said that boxing provided a “pathway” for her late husband “to become a global sports and cultural icon.” She also said that if he were alive today, he would be “proud to have his name associated with this bill” since it calls for “opportunities for other athletes to pursue their goals and dreams, just like he did.”

Davids, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, said that as a former MMA fighter, she knows “firsthand the physical and financial risks that come with stepping into the ring” and views the bill as ensuring boxers are “treated fairly and safely.”

TKO offered a statement to Sportico saying the organization reflects a “bipartisan effort to bring innovation to the sport of boxing for the first time in 25 years” and that the organization supports “the effort to restore boxing to its rightful place of prominence in America.” As the parent company of UFC, TKO has seen, first-hand, demands for greater athlete compensation. Last year, UFC and UFC fighters reached a $375 million settlement to resolve antitrust allegations brought in Cung Le et al. v. Zuffa. The plaintiffs accused UFC of suppressing economic competition, an allegation UFC disputed and a topic that remains at issue in another case, Kajan Johnson et al. v. Zuffa.

As for the political prospects of the bill at a time when Republicans and Democrats are sharply divided, Jack mentioned the 1996 Act and the 2000 amendment passed both houses of Congress by unanimous consent. He’s hoping his and Davids’ bill has a similarly favorable trajectory.