The hearing, “Return to Your Corners: Have Federal Boxing Laws Gone the Distance or Slipped the Jab?”, included participation by Oscar De La Hoya, a Hall of Fame fighter and the founder of Golden Boy Promotions, Nico Ali Walsh, the grandson of Ali and a middleweight contender himself, Timothy Shipman, the president of the Association of Boxing Commissions and an executive director of the Florida Athletic Commission, and Nick Khan, a TKO Group/Zuffa Boxing executive who is spearheading the TKO-backed bipartisan legislation enhancements around federal boxing regulations.

The United States House Committee on Education and Workforce approved legislation with a 30-4 vote in January to change the law to create a new, centralized and alternative professional boxing system in Unified Boxing Organizations. On March 24, the United States House of Representatives passed a vote by voice, which brought it one step closer to being signed into law by President Donald Trump.

The new bill preserves the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act that was codified in 2000 and enhances the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 by adding supplemental provisions.

The legislation has been met with mixed reviews across key players in combat sports, as some have been in favor due to the new opportunities it presents with its enhancements, while others have pushed back in fear of market control, one-way negotiations and subdued fighter pay.

De La Hoya is strongly against the enhancements and was the first person at the podium to deliver remarks.

"I care deeply about boxing and, more importantly, about the fighters who step into the ring and risk their lives for our entertainment. I'm here because I strongly believe the proposed changes take us in the wrong direction," De La Hoya said. "This principle change of the proposed amendment allows a promoter to create an entity that serves as both promoter and governing body, a so-called UBO.

"This mirrors the existing MMA model and creates a closed system controlling rankings, titles and access to opportunity. Under this structure, as long as the UBO complies with its own internal rules, it would not violate the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. Meanwhile, traditional promoters like myself would still be required to comply with full financial disclosures and reporting requirements.

"In other words, one system operates under transparency and accountability, while the UBO does not. This is a fundamental shift in power, that if changed, would put corporate profits first, fighters second. We should be clear about who benefits from this. These changes align directly with what Zuffa Boxing and its leadership at TKO Group Holdings have already said they intend to build in boxing, a model similar to the UFC. And we already know what the model looks like and it does not work for the fighters."

Khan countered De La Hoya’s statements with arguments around the benefits that will be introduced, including: minimum pay of $200 per round for fighters; mandatory injury insurance at $50,000 per bout at no cost to the boxer, which begins as soon as training camp starts; a six-year cap on promotional contracts, which makes it comparable to rookie contracts in the NFL and Major League Baseball; and standardized medical protocols for every boxer centered around annual brain and cardiac testing.

“The Muhammad Ali Boxing Revival Act is built on a simple premise — give boxers the freedom to choose a better system,” said Khan. “The act as it currently stands would remain in place. The system as it currently stands would remain in place. This is an 'or' option. Create the framework for UBOs that can do what major sports do – promote competition, develop talent and enforce consistent standards across one roof. For boxers, this bill delivers concrete protections that are long overdue.

“In terms of competition, all we’re asking for is an option for fighters. We’re not saying to get rid of anything. If they like the current system with the promoters and sanctioning bodies, sign up. If you think we’re a better option, sign up with us and see how it works out for you. Either we’ll succeed or we’ll fail. We’re the startup. We’re the outsider. Let’s see what we can do.

“Boxing has never had structure [similar to major American sports]. Instead, it has a patchwork of sanctioning bodies whose business model is charging boxers money for the right to be called champions. ... Some of the sanctioning bodies oppose this bill — that's because it threatens their dominance over the sport. This committee now has the opportunity to remedy that problem and restore one of the great American sporting institutions.”

While the enhanced act is supported by Lonnie Ali, the widow of the late boxing icon, their grandson, Ali Walsh, is strongly opposed to it.

“Protection should be strengthened, especially around health and safety, but not used as justification to restructure the sport in a way that removes power from fighters. The bill that the House has passed should not be adopted,” Ali Walsh said.

“We can protect fighters more effectively than we do today without concentrating control over them. If this bill is passed in its current form, it should not have my grandfather's name on it, as it would betray the principles that this act was created to protect. He fought for dignity outside the ring. This is about dignity inside it. Fighters should not have to choose between their careers and their rights.”

Ali Walsh added that the Ali Act was built on the principle that people controlling fighters should not also control the entire marketplace the fighters depend on, adding that multiple promoters competing for fighters creates leverage and fair market value.

“That separation exists to prevent conflicts of interest and exploitation,” Ali Walsh said. “The new Muhammad Ali Boxing Revival Act would undermine that principle. By allowing one entity to operate across promotion, management and matchmaking, it removes independence. When that happens, you fight who you're told to fight, or you don't fight at all. At that point, real choice disappears, and so does negotiation.

“This type of centralized system is already seen in mixed martial arts, particularly in the UFC, where a single organization controls promotion, matchmaking, and fighter contracts. ... Boxing is not broken. If it were, UFC champions, at the height of their careers, would not be actively targeting boxing fights because of the fair pay. ... Boxing has never been perfect, but one of its strengths has always been competition.”

Shipman was in support of the enhancements and cited that it would lead to improved provisions around medical standards, compensation and structure that UBOs provide.

“Fighters should have an option,” Shipman said. “From a regulatory perspective, this represents a substantial shift. States will require clear guidance on how UBOs integrate with existing licensing, event approvals and oversight systems. ... Ultimately, the overall impact of this legislation would depend on its final structure.”

After De La Hoya, Khan, Ali Walsh and Shipman delivered their remarks, Cruz chimed in with his own statements, before moving on to a near 45-minute session lobbing a variety of questions at the quartet alongside Senate colleagues.

“There are hearings that are sometimes designed to drive a point, and there are hearings where we’re genuinely seeking the input of experts, and I would put this hearing in the latter category,” Cruz said. “This bill passed overwhelmingly in the House, and it’s unusual for a bill to get that wide bipartisan support, from those on the far left, and the far right. They all came together because I think there is a widespread perception that there is a problem, and a problem that could beneficially be addressed by Congress.

“I fully expect that the version of the bill that the Senate takes up will be different from what the House passed. ... My objective here will be a win-win, that is a win for the sport, and a win for the fighters, and the fans, and everyone involved. If we can achieve that, it will be a good day of work."

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