The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act seeks to bring UFC-style promotion to the sport of boxing, and now the proposed law is winding its way through the halls of Congress.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, a hearing titled \u201cIn Their Corner: Creating More Opportunities for American Boxers\u201d was held before the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, with numerous witnesses speaking about the potential adoption of the new Ali Revival Act. UFC senior executive vice president and chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein, California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Foster, and attorney Pat English \u2014 one of the architects behind the original Muhammad Ali Act \u2014 all appeared and answered questions from the subcommittee.<\/p>\n
The key tenet from proponents for the bill comes down to offering boxers more opportunities with the introduction of Unified Boxing Organizations, which would effectively be using the UFC\u2019s style of promotion with internal rankings, championship titles, and exclusive contracts, to further expand the sport. A major point brought up any time this debate starts is that the new Ali Revival Act serves as an addition to already existing laws, but doesn\u2019t prevent anyone from operating under the current system as it stands.<\/p>\n
During testimony on Thursday, ranking member Ilhan Omar, the Congresswoman from Minnesota\u2019s fifth district who is also an outspoken combat sports fan, turned her attention towards Epstein to ask about the revenue share that boxers could expect to make if the UBO model is adopted. Omar specifically drew battle lines with the UFC antitrust lawsuits, where discovery showed that athletes competing for the promotion were paid far lower wages compared to other major professional sports such as football or basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Epstein, the UFC settled a longstanding antitrust case after allegations of using restrictive contracts, keeping fighters\u2019 pay at roughly 15 to 20 percent of revenue,\u201d Omar said during the hearing. \u201cWhat minimum share of event revenues can you commit today that boxers could receive under Zuffa Boxing league?\u201d<\/p>\n
Zuffa Boxing, which is being funded entirely by Saudi Arabia\u2019s General Entertainment Authority, plans to launch in 2026 after already inking a broadcast deal with Paramount.<\/p>\n
As of now, the organization hasn\u2019t actually held an event, so Epstein balked at providing a guaranteed amount of revenue going back to fighters based on figures that don\u2019t exist yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, let me address the lawsuit, which is part of your question \u2014 we did settle the lawsuit,\u201d Epstein explained. \u201cIt was 10 years of litigation, we made a business decision to settle it, but I want to be clear, there was no finding of liability or anything along those lines.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as committing to any percentage today, obviously can\u2019t do that. We\u2019re starting a new business. If this legislation is passed, we\u2019re going to be starting a new business.\u201d<\/p>\n