Senate Hears Divided Testimony on Boxing Reform Bill

A U.S. Senate committee heard starkly divided testimony on Wednesday from boxing industry figures debating proposed changes to federal laws governing the sport, with former champion Oscar De La Hoya and Muhammad Ali's grandson, Nico Ali Walsh, warning that reforms could erode fighters' protections and bargaining power.

The hearing, convened by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, focused on the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, which passed the House of Representatives unanimously last month. If enacted, the bill would permit the creation of Unified Boxing Organizations, or UBOs, allowing a single entity to handle promotion, rankings, titles, and sanctioning alongside the existing fragmented system of multiple sanctioning bodies like the WBC, IBF, WBA, and WBO.

De La Hoya, a six-division world champion and head of Golden Boy Promotions, argued that the changes represent a fundamental shift in power, prioritizing corporate interests over athletes. "This is a fundamental shift in power that would put corporate profits first, fighters second," he told the committee. Drawing from his own experience signing a...