Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act of 2026
Click any stage to learn more about the legislative process.
The bill would let boxing promoters form private "unified boxing organizations" (UBOs) that run their own boxing matches, title belts, and rankings instead of using the fragmented system of separate sanctioning bodies, while requiring UBOs to meet new safety, medical, and anti-doping standards.
It would also raise safety and pay standards for all professional boxers nationwide, including extra medical exams for older fighters, more ambulances and doctors at fights, higher insurance minimums, a $200-per-round pay floor, and mandatory drug testing for title bouts.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 to create a new category of private boxing organizers called "unified boxing organizations" (UBOs), which could run matches under their own contracted fighters and unified rules and rankings rather than relying on outside sanctioning bodies. UBOs would have to meet extensive conditions: anti-doping testing and public disclosure of penalties, supplemental physical exams for boxers 40 and older, extra ambulances and ringside physicians, training and rehabilitation facilities, medical coordinators, conflict-of-interest limits, and a filing with the Federal Trade Commission or a public website disclosing organizational details.
The bill would also raise baseline standards for all professional boxing: minimum pay of $200 per round, updated medical-examination and insurance requirements, a rule limiting sanctioning organizations to one championship title per weight class, and a requirement that state boxing commissions ensure drug testing at all title matches and randomly at other matches. It would not create a new federal regulatory agency, and enforcement of most requirements would remain with existing state boxing commissions and the Association of Boxing Commissions.
Key provisions
- 1Would create a legal category of "unified boxing organizations" allowed to run matches, titles, and rankings for their contracted boxers under unified rules
- 2Would require UBOs to run a comprehensive anti-doping program with in-competition and no-notice testing and public disclosure of penalties
- 3Would require supplemental annual physical exams (chest X-ray, metabolic panel, urinalysis) for boxers 40 or older and extra ambulances and ringside physicians at UBO matches
- 4Would set boxer contract terms, including a $200-per-round minimum payment, a 6-year contract cap, and a 30-day period boxers may contact other organizations before a contract ends
- 5Would raise required health insurance minimums to $50,000 in medical coverage and $15,000 in accidental death coverage and set a $200-per-round minimum pay for all professional boxers
- 6Would limit sanctioning organizations and UBOs to one championship title per weight class, with limited exceptions for interim titles
- 7Would require state and tribal boxing commissions to ensure drug testing at every title match and randomly at other matches
Who would be affected
Professional boxers, boxing promoters, and any private organizations that seek to operate as unified boxing organizations; state and tribal boxing commissions responsible for licensing and drug testing; ringside physicians and medical coordinators; and the Federal Trade Commission, which would receive UBO disclosure filings and could assess processing fees.
Why it matters
Boxers could see stronger medical safeguards, higher guaranteed pay, and expanded insurance coverage, while promoters and new UBOs would face added compliance costs, testing obligations, and disclosure requirements. State commissions would gain new drug-testing duties, and officers of UBOs who willfully violate the rules could face criminal fines or up to a year in prison.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (Sec. 3)
Adds a new Section 24 creating and regulating unified boxing organizations as an alternative compliance system.
Amends Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (Sec. 3(b))
Adds criminal penalties (up to 1 year imprisonment or $20,000 fine) for UBO officers who willfully violate the new UBO requirements.
Amends Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (Sec. 3(c))
Redefines "physician" and adds a definition of "unified boxing organization."
Amends Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (Sec. 4(a))
Updates required medical examinations, ambulance/physician requirements, insurance minimums, adds a $200 per-round minimum pay rule, and limits sanctioning organizations to one title per weight class.
Amends Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (Sec. 4(b))
Requires boxing commissions to ensure drug testing for title matches and random testing for other matches, and adds a sense-of-Congress on model standards.
Amends Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (Sec. 4(c)-(d))
Rewrites judges-and-referees certification requirements and strikes a conflict-of-interest expense exception.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- The Act's amendments take effect
- The amendments apply to boxing matches held
- Ringside physician certification requirement begins
Funding and costs
How implementation would work
UBOs would self-certify compliance by filing organizational details with the Federal Trade Commission or maintaining a public website, and would contract with independent third parties to administer anti-doping tests, reporting positive results to the UBO, the relevant state or tribal boxing commission, and the Association of Boxing Commissions, which can impose penalties. State and tribal commissions would set up their own procedures to require testing for title matches and random testing otherwise. The Association of Boxing Commissions, working with the Association of Ringside Physicians, would administer a certification program for ringside physicians starting two years after enactment and is directed to publish model standards and an annual conformance report card for commissions.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill authorizes the establishment of private-sector Unified Boxing Organizations (UBOs) and otherwise expands the regulatory framework for professional boxing. (See CRS Report IF12982 for an overview of the federal regulation of professional boxing in the United States.)
Under the bill, UBOs may organize matches involving boxers contracted with the UBO and must comply with other regulations with respect to such matches (e.g., conduct matches under the authority of a state boxing commission). UBOs also operate alongside existing professional boxing organizations (e.g., World Boxing Council (WBC)).
UBOs must meet certain additional requirements, for example
- the UBO must implement an anti-doping program that includes drug testing in advance of matches,
- boxers age 40 or older must receive supplemental physical examinations,
- each match must have at least two ambulances on site, and
- boxers must have access to equipment and facilities that are operated by the UBO for training and rehabilitation.
The bill also expands the required health insurance coverage and minimum pay for all professional boxers.
Further, the bill requires state boxing commissions to establish procedures to ensure that drug tests are administered for title matches and at random for all other matches.
Legislative subjects
Advisory bodies; Contracts and agency; Emergency medical services and trauma care; Internet, web applications, social media; Medical tests and diagnostic methods; Neurological disorders; Sports and Recreation; Sports and recreation facilities; State and local government operations; Women's health
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-524