[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 44 (Thursday, April 1, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3559-S3560]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             S. 275, THE PROFESSIONAL BOXING AMENDMENTS ACT

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased that the Senate has agreed by 
unanimous consent to pass S. 275, the Professional Boxing Amendments 
Act of 2004 (Act). I would like to thank the bill's cosponsors, 
Senators Stevens, Dorgan, and Reid for their commitment to professional 
boxing and the warriors who sustain the sport.
  This amendment is designed to strengthen existing Federal boxing laws 
by making uniform certain health and safety standards, establishing a 
centralized medical registry to be used by local commissions to protect 
boxers, reducing arbitrary practices of sanctioning organizations, and 
providing uniformity in ranking criteria and contractual guidelines. It 
also would establish a Federal entity, the United States Boxing 
Commission--USBC--to promulgate minimum uniform standards for 
professional boxing and enforce Federal boxing laws.
  Over the past 7 years, the Commerce Committee has taken action to 
address the problems that plague the sport of professional boxing. The 
committee has already developed two Federal boxing laws that have been 
enacted, the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, and the Muhammad 
Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000. These laws established minimum uniform 
standards to improve the health and safety of boxers, and to better 
protect them from the often coercive, exploitative, and unethical 
business practices of promoters, managers, and sanctioning 
organizations. While these laws have had a positive impact on 
professional boxing, the sport remains beset by a variety of problems, 
some beyond the scope of local regulation.
  Promoters continue to steal fighters from each other, sanctioning 
organizations make unmerited ratings changes without offering adequate 
explanations, promoters refuse to pay fighters who have put their lives 
on the line, local boxing commissions fail to ensure the protection of 
boxers' health and safety, boxers are contractually and financially 
exploited, and the list continues. Most recently, we have learned of a 
federal law enforcement

[[Page S3560]]

investigation that reportedly may yield a dozen or more indictments for 
charges of fight fixing.
  All too often my office receives a call from a parent whose child was 
killed in a match asking why proper medical or safety precautions were 
not taken by the local commission with jurisdiction, or from a boxer 
who has worked tirelessly to escape poverty, only to find themselves 
subject to the exploitation of the unscrupulous few who control the 
sport.
  Professional boxing is the only major sport in the United States that 
does not have a strong, centralized association or league to establish 
and enforce uniform rules and practices. There is no widely established 
union of boxers, no collective body of promoters or managers, and no 
consistent level of regulation among state and tribal commissions. Due 
to the lack of uniform business practices or ethical standards, the 
sport of boxing has suffered from the physical and financial 
exploitation of its athletes.
  The General Accounting Office confirmed in a July 2003 report on 
professional boxing regulation that, because professional boxing is 
regulated predominantly on a state-by-state basis, there is a varying 
degree of oversight depending on the resources and priorities of each 
state or tribal commission. The report also indicates that the lack of 
consistency in compliance with Federal boxing law among state and 
tribal commissions ``does not provide adequate assurance that 
professional boxers are receiving the minimum protections established 
in Federal law.''

  The consequences of this vacuum of effective public or private 
oversight has led to decades of scandals, controversies, unethical 
practices, and far too many unnecessary deaths in professional boxing. 
Yet another tragic, but precise example, of poor local regulation 
occurred just last year in Utah where a 35-year-old boxer collapsed and 
died in a boxing ring. The young man should never have been allowed to 
participate in the bout given that he had suffered 25 consecutive 
losses over a three-year period leading up to the fight, including a 
loss only one month earlier to the same opponent against whom he was 
fighting when he died. While tragic in its own right, this is merely 
one in a seemingly endless series of incidents that continue to occur 
as a direct result of inadequate state regulation.
  This measure would improve existing boxing law, and also establish 
the USBC. The primary functions of the commission would be to protect 
the health, safety, and general interests of boxers. More specifically, 
the USBC would, among other things: administer Federal boxing laws and 
coordinate with other federal agencies to ensure that these laws are 
enforced; oversee all professional boxing matches in the United States; 
and work with the boxing industry and local commissions to improve the 
status and standards of the sport. The USBC also would maintain a 
centralized database of medical and statistical information pertaining 
to boxers in the United States that would be used confidentially by 
local commissions in making licensing decisions.
  There has been quite a bit of confusion among local boxing 
commissions regarding the effect that this bill would have on them. Let 
me be clear. The purpose of the USBC would not be intended to micro-
manage boxing by interfering with the daily operations of local boxing 
commissions. Instead, the USBC would work in consultation with local 
commissions, and only exercise its authority should reasonable grounds 
exist for intervention.
  The problems that plague the sport of professional boxing compromise 
the safety of boxers and undermine the credibility of the sport in the 
public's view. This bill is urgently needed to provide a realistic 
approach to curbing such problems.
  Mr. DORGAN. I am pleased to support with my colleague, Senator 
McCain, the Professional Boxing Amendments Act of 2003.
  This is an issue that we have now been examining for some time, and I 
am pleased that the Senate is moving this legislation forward.
  The Senate Commerce Committee had the opportunity over the past years 
to spend time with figures such as Roy Jones Junior, Muhammad Ali, Bert 
Sugar, Lou Dibella, and Bernard Hopkins, and we heard some things that 
caused great concern.
  I grew up as a boxing fan who wants to see the sport succeed, but I 
have worried about how the sport is doing, and I believe this 
legislation will take an important step.
  Professional boxing is the only major sport in the United States that 
does not have a strong, centralized association or league to establish 
and enforce uniform rules and practices for its participants. There is 
no union, no organization that polices promoters or managers, and 
unfortunately no consistent level of state regulation among the state 
athletic commissions.
  Part of the problem is the alphabet soup of 29 sanctioning bodies--
all with different titles and rankings--and another part is a lack of 
faith that anyone, not the state commissions, managers or promoters are 
on the up and up.
  I believe that a system based on state commissions alone just takes 
us to the lowest common denominator. We are in desperate need of some 
basic national standards and uniform enforcement.
  There continue to be stories about how some people are exploiting the 
patchwork of federal and state boxing regulations to the detriment of 
boxers and their fans.
  This manipulation is often tolerated, or tacitly permitted by the 
state boxing commissions, and too often current laws are rarely 
enforced by the state attorneys general, or the U.S. Attorney's office 
who are too busy or just not interested.
  This bill will create a United States Boxing Commission to oversee 
the sport. The federal Commission would have the responsibility to 
license promoters, managers, and sanctioning organizations. The 
Commission would be able to keep things in line by revoking or 
suspending licenses as situations warrant.
  It is imperative that we establish this federal mechanism in order to 
protect not only the boxers, but also the overall integrity of the 
sport.

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