[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 64 (Monday, May 22, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H3489-H3491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     MUHAMMAD ALI BOXING REFORM ACT

  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the 
Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 1832) to reform unfair and anti-
competitive practices in the professional boxing industry.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Senate amendments:
       Page 6, after line 17, insert:
       ``(c) Protection From Coercive Contracts With 
     Broadcasters.--Subsection (a) of this section applies to any 
     contract between a commercial broadcaster and a boxer, or 
     granting any rights with respect to that boxer, involving a 
     broadcast in or affecting interstate commerce, regardless of 
     the broadcast medium. For the purpose of this subsection, any 
     reference in subsection (a)(1)(B) to `promoter' shall be 
     considered a reference to `commercial broadcaster'.
      Page 17, after line 24, insert:
       (1) in paragraph (9) by inserting after ``match.'' the 
     following: ``The term `promoter' does not include a hotel, 
     casino, resort, or other commercial establishment hosting or 
     sponsoring a professional boxing match unless--
       ``(A) the hotel, casino, resort, or other commercial 
     establishment is primarily responsible for organizing, 
     promoting, and producing the match; and
       ``(B) there is no other person primarily responsible for 
     organizing, promoting, and producing the match.'';
      Page 18, line 1, strike out ``(1)'' and insert ``(2)''
      Page 18, line 4, strike out ``(2)'' and insert: ``(3)''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Oxley) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley).


                             General Leave

  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this legislation and to insert extraneous material on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to sponsor H.R. 1832, the Muhammad Ali Act, 
to enact anti-bribery safeguards for the sport of boxing.
  Four years ago, I sponsored another piece of legislation, the 
Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996. This act established the first-
ever uniform licensing and health and safety system to protect 
professional boxers, and prohibited conflicts of interest by boxing's 
State regulatory commissions. This legislation was a great success, but 
the State boxing commissions and attorneys general have now asked us to 
go the next step to clean up the corruption among boxing's promoters, 
managers, and sanctioning bodies.
  Ironically, the Professional Boxing Safety Act took effect on the 
same weekend as the now infamous fight between Mike Tyson and Evander 
Holyfield, where Tyson bit off a piece of Holyfield's ear. Before this 
act took effect, there was no uniform safety laws governing boxers, and 
States were unable to effectively regulate the sport. Because of the 
Professional Boxing Safety Act, the suspension of Mike Tyson by the 
Nevada Boxing Commission was recognized nationwide, preventing Tyson 
from fighting again until his suspension was completed.
  The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, which we consider today, amends 
the Professional Boxing Safety Act to expand the consumer protections 
and anti-bribery provisions. It prevents

[[Page H3490]]

promoters, sanctioning bodies, and networks from forcing boxers into 
coercive contracts as a condition of participating in a mandatory bout. 
No longer will promoters be able to abuse boxers and monopolize the 
sport by requiring boxers to sign away all their rights in order to get 
a big break or keep their ranking.
  The bill also cleans up the arbitrary ranking systems of sanctioning 
bodies. In the past, promoters and sanctioning bodies have been able to 
rig the sport by placing favored boxers who have signed away 
promotional rights in the top rankings. Boxers who do not grant 
appropriate favors are arbitrarily dropped from the ranking or 
prevented from moving up. This bill requires the sanctioning bodies to 
publish written criteria for ranking boxers and requires sanctioning 
bodies and promoters to disclose all revenues and other compensation 
received in connection with the boxers to minimize the opportunities 
for bribery and back-room dealing.
  This new system will force sanctioning bodies to rank boxers based on 
merit not subservience. It will mean new opportunities for honest 
boxers who are trying to fight their way up the rankings and more 
integrity and respect for the sport since boxing fans will know that 
championship matches are being fought by true champions.

                              {time}  1445

  Judges and referees are also required to clean up their act under 
this legislation. They must be certified and approved by a State boxing 
commission, and they are required to disclose their sources of 
compensation in order to prevent any impropriety. No longer will 
sanctioning bodies and promoters be able to influence judges or hire 
uncertified referees.
  The State boxing commissions are directed to develop and approve 
guidelines for uniform rating criteria for boxers. Boxing has long 
suffered from the lack of standardized rankings. This legislation 
maintains flexibility but directs the establishment of uniform 
guidelines to increase public confidence in the sport.
  H.R. 1832 finishes the job started several years ago by weeding out 
corruption from boxing. It passed the House last November by voice 
vote. The only change today is the addition by the Senate of a 
provision stating that commercial broadcasters cannot coerce boxers 
into coercive contracts, parallel to the same restrictions already in 
the bill for promoters.
  I do not believe that broadcasters have any interest in forcing 
boxers into exclusive long-term contracts as a condition of being able 
to fight in a broadcast event, so I view the amendment as a 
supplemental safeguard.
  This legislation is good for boxing and good for the fans. It has 
been endorsed by almost every major boxing magazine, numerous high-
profile boxers, promoters, managers, and almost half of the U.S. State 
attorneys general.
  In the words of one of boxing's greatest, Muhammad Ali, ``The day 
this bill is signed into law cannot come soon enough. I pray justice 
will be done and somehow, along the way, honor can be restored to this 
sport.''
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. BOUCHER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I want to begin this afternoon by 
commending our colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley), for his 
truly excellent work in bringing this measure forward. I think he has 
performed an important public service. I am pleased to lend my support 
to the passage of this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act is cosponsored by 11 
Democratic Members, including three Democratic members of the Committee 
on Commerce: the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel), the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall).
  The bill was reported from the Committee on Commerce and was passed 
by the full House by voice vote. It also was approved by the Senate 
with an amendment by unanimous consent. And today we consider that 
Senate amendment, which I am pleased to endorse and with regard to 
which I am pleased to urge approval.
  In 1996, the Committee on Commerce reported legislation which became 
law establishing minimum health and safety standards for professional 
boxing. The bill that we are considering today addresses abuses that 
occur on the business side of boxing. The bill contains protections for 
professional boxers against coercive contracts they may be pressured to 
sign by nonscrupulous promoters. The amendment to the bill added by the 
other body applies this same protection against coercive contracts that 
may be presented by broadcasters.
  In addition, the bill requires sanctioning organizations and 
promoters to disclose to the State boxing commissions any agreement 
that they may have with the boxer and any fees they charge the boxer in 
the case of a fight of 10 rounds or more. These, I think, are helpful 
provisions.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill has enjoyed broad support throughout the 
entire process, and I am pleased today to urge our colleagues to adopt 
the Senate amendment and give approval to this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Oxley) and the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) for their hard work on this bill.
  My colleagues may wonder why this feminist Member is coming to the 
floor on this bill to strongly support it. I note that my name was not 
read off as a cosponsor. I have to ask my staff, in light of a bill I 
introduced, H.R. 2354, how they missed this one.
  After the heavyweight match between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield 
in Las Vegas, I was so stunned and shamed by the incident that I 
decided to learn a little bit about this sport, which, I confess, I do 
not favor but accept as a reality will be with us for some time, and 
discovered the loophole that is closed by this bill today.
  I introduced the State Reciprocity and Professional Boxing Act of 
1997 since I saw I had no assurance that Mike Tyson could not, when 
suspended in Nevada, go off and fight in some other State. That seemed 
to me to be unprofessional and not what either the Congress intended in 
the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 or, for that matter, anybody 
who watched that disgraceful performance would have wanted.
  Now this bill has come forward to do precisely what my bill would 
have done and to go somewhat further in adopting the Senate amendments 
to ensure that no boxer is permitted to box while under suspension by 
any other State.
  Wherever one stands on whether or not grown men should get in a ring 
and go at one another, we certainly know that they ought to do so 
governed by sportsman-like conduct.
  I think it is most appropriate that this bill is named for Muhammad 
Ali. I am sure that if he were inclined to speak, as he often spoke out 
as a young man, he would find that this bill does the sport proud and 
helps elevate the sport once again.
  I believe that the House, in making sure that it is vigilant whenever 
it sees amendments that should be made to the Professional Boxing 
Safety Act of 1996, does a great service to the sport, to reclaiming 
its good name, and especially to those honorable men and women, the 
great majority of them who continue to exercise this sport.
  In light of my own concern and my own bill right after the Tyson-
Holyfield fight, I wanted to be sure to come forward to thank the 
chairman and the ranking member for their diligence in seeing to it 
that this loophole is closed.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentlewoman from the District of 
Columbia (Ms. Norton) for her words and for her support of this 
legislation, as well as my good friend, the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Boucher).
  I would be remiss, also, without mentioning our good friend, Senator 
John McCain, who had been a real leader on this issue, the chairman of 
the Committee on Commerce in the Senate and the driving force behind 
this bill and the one we previously passed 2 years

[[Page H3491]]

ago. So we want to thank him for his leadership.
  Mr. TAUZIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1832, the Muhammad 
Ali Boxing Reform Act.
  I grew up as a young boy living in south Louisiana. The first 
television set in our community came to my grandfather's house, and 
some of my earliest bonding memories with my dad and grandfather were 
when we got together with our friends from the whole community and 
gathered around that only television set in our area to watch the great 
boxing fights of our day.
  Perhaps the greatest fighter in all of boxing history is Muhammad 
Ali. Muhammad Ali gave his name to this legislation because he believes 
it is absolutely critical to help protect boxers and clean up the sport 
from the occasional unscrupulous individuals who have recently given it 
a bad name.
  Last June, my Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and 
Consumer Protection held a hearing on this legislation to get input 
from various State boxing commissioners, promoters, managers, boxing 
fans, and boxers. Coincidentally, the hearing took place just after an 
extremely controversial decision in a fight between Evander Holyfield 
and Lennox Lewis, in which an International Boxing Federation judge 
awarded the title to Mr. Holyfield, the IBF champion, instead of to Mr. 
Lewis, the World Boxing Council champion and clear apparent winner 
according to most boxing commentators. At our hearing, one witness said 
the decision by the IBF judge was dishonest, two said it was 
incompetent, the third called it ``highly influenced'', and 
Middleweight Boxer Alfonzo Daniels simply replied, ``Lewis was 
robbed''.
  We are all robbed when this kind of corruption and incompetence 
touches on this great sport. Since that time there have continued to be 
indictments and allegations of corruption in the sport. The Miami 
Herald reported that over 30 prize fights have been fixed or tainted 
with fraud in the last dozen years. A Los Angeles Times investigation 
found that boxing ranking were sometimes sold by sanctioning bodies and 
that boxing promoters and managers make thinly disguised bribes to 
improve their boxers' standings and to get them more lucrative fights.
  In fact, the week before the House passed an earlier version of this 
legislation last November, a Federal grand jury issued a 32-count 
indictment against the President and three officials of the 
International Boxing Federation on charges of taking bribes from 
promoters and managers to manipulate rankings, as well as racketeering 
and money laundering. According to the Federal prosecutor, ``In the 
IBF, ranking were bought, not earned . . . completely corrupt[ing] the 
. . . ranking system.''
  This legislation will remove the few rotten actors that have been 
giving a bad name to the numerous honest and hardworking individuals 
that have made this sport so great. It is good for boxing and good for 
boxing fans. We will now all be able to trust in the integrity of the 
sport, and enjoy without suspicion boxing's championship fights, just 
like I did with my father and grandfather many years ago.
  In conclusion, I would like to thank some of the people who have 
worked so hard on this legislation to make it a reality, including ABC 
President Greg Sirb, promoter Tony Holden, Senate Commerce Committee 
staff Paul Feeney, George Otto with the Quarry Foundation, and of 
course the Great One, Muhammad Ali, without whose persistence and 
support we would not be able to achieve what we are about to accomplish 
here today.
  Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Miller of Florida). The question is on 
the motion offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Oxley) that the 
House suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the 
bill, H.R. 1832.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate amendments were 
concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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