{"id":597326,"date":"2026-04-10T06:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/597326\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:23:10","slug":"the-wbc-joins-nico-ali-walshs-statement-regarding-the-muhammad-ali-boxing-reform-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/597326\/","title":{"rendered":"The WBC joins Nico Ali Walsh’s statement regarding the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

The WBC joins Nico Ali Walsh\u2019s statement regarding the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act<\/p>\n

\u00a0ALI ACT PRESERVATION ALLIANCE<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

In response to pending legislation to amend the existing Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act (\u201cthe Act\u201d), enacted in the year 2000, more than 30 key members and organizations in the community of professional boxing and prizefighting have come together to form the Ali Act Preservation Alliance.<\/p>\n

The Alliance exists for one purpose only:\u00a0 to protect the best interests of the fighters, who risk everything in the ring fighting for a chance at a better life for themselves and for their families.<\/p>\n

The existing Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act contains provisions that are critically important for the protection of boxers\u2019 best interests, being:<\/p>\n

Prohibitions on Coercive Contracts, preventing boxers from the worst exploitation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Required Financial Disclosures, giving boxers the right to see what happens with the money.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prevention of Conflicts of Interest, putting firewalls between promoters and managers and promoters and championship\/ranking sanctioning organizations.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mandatory disclosures by championship\/ranking sanctioning organizations, including federal filings and monthly ratings and justifications of ratings changes.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, currently pending before the U.S. Senate, the so-called \u201cMuhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act\u201d would permit certain promoters (called \u201cUnified Boxing Organizations\u201d) to control a boxer\u2019s contract, plus the boxer\u2019s access to championships and ratings.\u00a0 Result?\u00a0 Promoter controlling contracts, rankings, and titles equals no negotiating leverage for the UBO\u2019s fighters.<\/p>\n

The sport and industry of boxing agree:<\/p>\n

The existing Ali Act is ANTIMONOPOLY. This has prevented one entity from controlling the sport.\u00a0 Boxing\u2019s free market results in up to 80% of the sport\u2019s economics flowing to the fighters themselves, with the resulting gain \u2013 or frequently, losses \u2013 remaining for the promoters.\u00a0 (By contrast, in combat sport MMA, less than 20% of the economics are shared by the fighters.)
\nThe proposed \u201cRevival Act\u201d is ANTILABOR. Creating exceptions to all the protections for boxers in the existing Ali Act will expose the boxers in the UBO to exploitation, since the promoter\u2019s discretion alone will determine fighters\u2019 rankings and who will have the opportunity to fight for championships.
\nIf the proposed law is enacted, a UBO becomes an entity which has its own rankings, matchmaking, and awards its own championships belts, while being the promoter controlling all the aspects of the business as well.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vitally important is that the proposed law \u2013 by creating new organizations and championship that cannot be unified with boxing\u2019s existing titles \u2013 would prevent ever again having Undisputed Champions of the World, a huge step back rather than progress forward.<\/p>\n

The voice of the Ali Act Preservation Alliance is its leader, active boxer and grandson of Muhammad Ali himself, Mr. Nico Ali Walsh.\u00a0 He has strongly condemned the new bill, posting on X: \u201cAs an Ali, I\u2019m completely against altering the Muhammad Ali Act.\u00a0\u00a0My grandfather fought for it to protect fighters from getting screwed over. Remove it, and promoters take control while fighters get paid less. Keep the act and protect the fighters who put their lives on the line.\u201d (Aug. 11, 2025).<\/p>\n

Equally important is to see the negative effect on fighters that anticompetitive behavior \u2013 of the type the proposed law could permit \u2013 can have in combative sports like boxing.<\/p>\n

In a class action antitrust lawsuit Cung Le, et al. v. Zuffa, LLC, d\/b\/a Ultimate Fighting Championship and UFC,\u00a0Judge Richard F. Boulware, II\u2019s order stated clearly the dangers:<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to this anticompetitive, coercive conduct, fighters were trapped by Zuffa\u2019s exclusionary contracts and their restrictive terms, creating a situation in which Zuffa had unfettered power and opportunity to suppress fighters\u2019 compensation.\u2026 In conclusion, the Court finds that Plaintiffs have established that Defendant\u2019s tactics were anticompetitive. \u00a0Defendant evinced a clear intent to acquire and maintain monopsony power.\u201d<\/p>\n

We also see the dangers of a promoter controlling the rules and regulations of combative sport.\u00a0 Zuffa, the lead proponent of the proposed law, is limiting its championships to only eight weight divisions.\u00a0 This means that outside of heavyweights, a boxer may have to fight an opponent who weighs from 8 up to almost 15 pounds more to compete for a championship.\u00a0 Recent events have shown the extreme danger for a fighter from either cutting too much weight, or fighting a much heavier opponent.\u00a0 The conflict of interest for a promoter to control rules such as weight divisions is not only unfair, but very dangerous for the health of the fighters.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, the Ali Act Preservation Alliance believes it speaks for stakeholders across boxing and all combative sports in calling for the United States Senate to reject the so-called \u201cBoxing Revival Act\u201d, and see it for what it is:\u00a0 a dangerous and unfair exception to the law that protects the fighters, and which is named for boxing\u2019s greatest hero, Muhammad Ali, who fought within the sport and society at large for justice and civil rights.<\/p>\n

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