Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act of 2026

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4624, the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act.

This bill amends the Federal law governing safety, transparency, and integrity in professional boxing, the only professional sport that is federally regulated.

The original law regulating boxing was enacted to end corrupt promoters' abilities to corner the market by locking up top talent and requiring any would-be challengers to surrender their promotional rights or agree to new representation chosen by the promoter. Some particularly powerful promoters allegedly even threatened or bribed sanctioning organizations to manipulate their rankings.

Thanks to current law, those days are over. As a result of that law, boxers at the top of the sport take home approximately 80 percent of the revenue associated with a match.

The bill we are voting on today is the result of bipartisan work that went into improving it. Specifically, Chairman Walberg, Workforce Protections Subcommittee Ranking Member Omar, Representative Stevens, and I came together, identified key issues, and made meaningful fixes to strengthen the legislation. These changes were significant, and the bill we are considering is much better than the version that was introduced.

For example, we improved health and safety protections for fighters, particularly when it comes to brain health, which is an important priority, by adding additional neurological testing.

The bill now ensures that qualified ringside physicians are available, strengthens emergency preparedness by requiring onsite medical personnel, and expands pre-bout medical testing.

We also enhanced boxers' economic security. We increased minimum insurance coverage for injuries, added accidental death coverage, and raised the minimum compensation per round.

We also took steps to protect the integrity of the sport. The bill now incorporates consistent antidoping standards, increases drug testing, and begins to address the problem of too many championship titles diluting competition.

We added protections for fighters under contract by limiting contract length, ensuring opportunities to compete will be compensated, and giving boxers a fair chance to pursue other opportunities.

These practical, bipartisan improvements are a significant win for boxers' health and well-being, as well as their economic futures.

As the bill moves forward in the legislative process, the Senate can and should build on the progress we have made in the House and continue to improve this legislation before it becomes law.

For example, the Senate could ensure enforceability of the Boxing Act's rights by prohibiting any contract between a boxer and a UBO or boxing service provider, including clauses that bar class action proceedings or mandates to bring disputes to private arbitration.

Mr. Speaker, I support the bill and thank the authors, Representative Sharice Davids of Kansas and Brian Jack of Georgia, for their work on this legislation.

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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Omar), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is far better today because of the bipartisan work that went into it.

Together, we have improved safety standards, strengthened financial protections, and added important safeguards for fighters.

These changes will help ensure that boxers are better protected both in and out of the ring and that the sport moves forward with greater integrity and accountability.

As all the speakers on this side have mentioned, there is more work that could be done to strengthen the bill, especially as it pertains to private right of action and binding arbitration. This bill has come a long way and is significantly improved from its introduced version.

I support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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