The results of the latest hearing surrounding the proposed amendment to the current Ali Act drew an immediate reminder to Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing 03 post-press conference comments surrounding his promotional rivals.
"What's been the biggest pushback? There hasn't been any pushback,” White said last month. “This is like beating up babies. I feel like I came in and I'm beating up babies.”
The minimal resistance that came with advancing the H.R. 4624 bill - the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act (MAABRA) – was a reminder of how powerful a machine is behind Zuffa Boxing’s emergence in the sport.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of suspending the rules and passing the bill as amended during a hearing held Tuesday in Washington D.C. The “ayes” far overruled the “nays” after a 40-minute hearing, during which time many spoke in favor of H.R. 4624 which has thus far greatly carried bipartisan support.
“The House of Representatives made history today by passing by voice vote landmark boxing legislation that will revive one of America’s greatest sports in the name of one of America’s greatest athletes,” Georgia congressman Brian Jack, who first introduced the bill last summer, said in a statement provided to the media. “Professional boxing is the only sport regulated by Congress, and ambiguity in current law — adopted over a quarter century ago — has adversely affected boxers and stifled investment.
“The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act strengthens safety protections for boxers, improves the quality of life for boxers, and establishes a framework for innovation within the sport to flourish.”
The bill still must pass through the Senate floor and then gain approval from U.S. president Donald Trump before it becomes official law. White – the face of both UFC and Zuffa Boxing – is a strong ally of Trump, who regularly attends major UFC events.
Given the political connections thus far and the rapid speed at which the proposed amendment has already advanced, that part is not at all expected to be a hurdle to clear.
Tuesday’s development came barely two months after The Education and Workforce Committee voted 30-4 in favor to advance an amended version of the bill. The final vote among the 37 assigned members (three representatives did not cast a vote) allows the proposed amendment to the current Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 to appear before the House of Representatives.
H.R. 4624 carries significant fighter protections in terms of higher guaranteed minimum pay, health benefits and stronger medical safety standards. Where it is of benefit to Zuffa is that the amendment is offered as an “or” for promoters who don’t wish to operate under the current Ali Act.
Simply put, it will allow Zuffa to produce the boxing equivalent of the UFC model – its own league (noted in the bill as “Unified Boxing Organizations” or “UBO”), its own championship and rankings, without having to deal with the sanctioning bodies and their fees.
Among the few dissenting votes from January was Rep. Joe Courtney who remained opposed to the bill in present form. The Democratic congressman representing Connecticut used his allotted five minutes to further address his concerns.
“The committee received significant testimony from those deeply in the landscape of boxing and warned us this would strip away many of the hard-fought reforms (from the original Ali Act and the Professional Boxing Safety Act,” stated Mr. Courtney. “H.R. 4624 creates a new parallel legal structure, the so-called [UBOs], which can engage in promotion, rule setting, match organization and creation of their own titles and rankings under the existing law negotiated and spearheaded by the late John McCain.
“These functions have been required to remain separate to protect against conflicts of interest and coercive contract terms for boxers. H.R. 4624 will replicate a model that has been extremely lucrative in… mixed martial arts (UFC) that operates with few legal and economic protections for fighters, leading to a long history of litigation and allegations of coercive and anti-competitive practices.”
Rep. Courtney drew attention to USA Boxing’s decision to rescind its previous support of the amendment, along with already submitted letters by Top Rank founder Bob Arum and longtime boxing attorney Patrick English, both of whom are vehemently opposed to the bill.
Still, much progress was made from the first Education and Workforce Committee hearing in December, where there was a greater divide on advancing the amendment in present form.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was the voice of reason during that hearing. She drew attention to the UFC antitrust lawsuit and subsequent $375,000,000 settlement over claims of fighter pay suppression for more than 1,200 athletes from a period of December 2010-June 2017.
That said, Rep. Omar explicitly stated that she was neither for nor against the bill at the time and called for continued dialogue among both sides of the aisle. That wish was not only granted but led to several key revisions to the original amendment – such as a sunset clause in fighter contracts; the right to negotiate with other promoters within the final 30 days of contract ahead of potential free agency; and a monthly per diem equivalent to no less than ten times the minimum per round pay for inactive fighters, to avoid athletes being unfairly benched or forced into unfair fights.
On the other side, many in the industry have raised concerns over how the bill will affect the U.S. club boxing scene. There is grave concern that boxing’s middle class and club-level will be run out of the sport.
Immediate online reaction to Tuesday’s hearing outcome suggests those concerns remain in place and that the voice of the sport’s majority is not being heard in D.C.
Nevertheless, Zuffa – which has already introduced its first championship – continues to rack up political victories just months into its entrance into the sport.
H.R. 4624 was first introduced in the 119th Congress by Rep. Jack and Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) in July. The selling points were to improve fighter safety, health and financial standards within the sport. Additionally, the suggestion of a UBO was offered as an alternative to the current system, rather than replace it outright.
The initial movement came with the full support of Zuffa, a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings. The group is headed by UFC president Dana White, WWE president Nick Khan (also a TKO board member), Sela CEO Rakan Alharthy and Riyadh Season head and boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh.
Not everyone was on board, and there still remains significant work to be done. Even the Democrat representatives who reaffirmed their support of the bipartisan bill suggested on Tuesday that continued dialogue is essential to further improving the final version of the bill before it becomes law.
Not that it will ease the minds of those who remain opposed – and unwilling to budge from that stance, for better or worse.
