106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 305

AN ACT

To reform unfair and anticompetitive practices in the

professional boxing industry.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Muhammad Ali Boxing

5 Reform Act’’.
2

S 305 ES

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress makes the following findings:

3 (1) Professional boxing differs from other

4 major, interstate professional sports industries in

5 the United States in that it operates without any

6 private sector association, league, or centralized in7 dustry organization to establish uniform and appro8 priate business practices and ethical standards. This

9 has led to repeated occurrences of disreputable and

10 coercive business practices in the boxing industry, to

11 the detriment of professional boxers nationwide.

12 (2) Professional boxers are vulnerable to ex13 ploitative business practices engaged in by certain

14 promoters and sanctioning bodies which dominate

15 the sport. Boxers do not have an established rep16 resentative group to advocate for their interests and

17 rights in the industry.

18 (3) State officials are the proper regulators of

19 professional boxing events, and must protect the wel20 fare of professional boxers and serve the public in21 terest by closely supervising boxing activity in their

22 jurisdiction. State boxing commissions do not cur23 rently receive adequate information to determine

24 whether boxers competing in their jurisdiction are

25 being subjected to contract terms and business prac-
3

S 305 ES

1 tices which may be violative of State regulations, or

2 are onerous and confiscatory.

3 (4) Promoters who engage in illegal, coercive,

4 or unethical business practices can take advantage

5 of the lack of equitable business standards in the

6 sport by holding boxing events in states with weaker

7 regulatory oversight.

8 (5) The sanctioning organizations which have

9 proliferated in the boxing industry have not estab10 lished credible and objective criteria to rate profes11 sional boxers, and operate with virtually no industry

12 or public oversight. Their ratings are susceptible to

13 manipulation, have deprived boxers of fair opportu14 nities for advancement, and have undermined public

15 confidence in the integrity of the sport.

16 (6) Open competition in the professional boxing

17 industry has been significantly interfered with by re18 strictive and anti-competitive business practices of

19 certain promoters and sanctioning bodies, to the det20 riment of the athletes and the ticket-buying public.

21 Common practices of promoters and sanctioning or22 ganizations represent restraints of interstate trade

23 in the United States.

24 (7) It is necessary and appropriate to establish

25 national contracting reforms to protect professional
4

S 305 ES

1 boxers and prevent exploitative business practices,

2 and to require enhanced financial disclosures to

3 State athletic commissions to improve the public

4 oversight of the sport.

5 (8) Whereas the Congress seeks to improve the

6 integrity and ensure fair practices of the profes7 sional boxing industry on a nationwide basis, it

8 deems it appropriate to name this reform in honor

9 of Muhammad Ali, whose career achievements and

10 personal contributions to the sport, and positive im11 pact on our society, are unsurpassed in the history

12 of boxing.

13 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

14 The purposes of this Act are—

15 (1) to protect the rights and welfare of profes16 sional boxers by preventing certain exploitative, op17 pressive, and unethical business practices they may

18 be subject to on an interstate basis;

19 (2) to assist State boxing commissions in their

20 efforts to provide more effective public oversight of

21 the sport; and

22 (3) to promoting honorable competition in pro23 fessional boxing and enhance the overall integrity of

24 the industry.
5

S 305 ES

1 SEC 4. PROTECTING BOXERS FROM EXPLOITATION.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Professional Boxing Safety

3 Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) is amended by—

4 (1) redesignating section 15 as 16; and

5 (2) inserting after section 14 the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 15. PROTECTION FROM EXPLOITATION.

7 ‘‘(a) CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any contract between a

9 boxer and a promoter or manager shall—

10 ‘‘(A) include mutual obligations between

11 the parties;

12 ‘‘(B) specify a minimum number of profes13 sional boxing matches per year for the boxer;

14 and

15 ‘‘(C) set forth a specific period of time

16 during which the contract will be in effect, in17 cluding any provision for extension of that pe18 riod due to the boxer’s temporary inability to

19 compete because of an injury or other cause.

20 ‘‘(2) 1-YEAR LIMIT ON COERCIVE PROMOTIONAL

21 RIGHTS.—

22 ‘‘(A) The period of time for which pro23 motional rights to promote a boxer may be

24 granted under a contract between the boxer and

25 a promoter, or between promoters with respect

26 to a boxer, may not be greater than 12 months
6

S 305 ES

1 in length if the boxer is required to grant such

2 rights, or a boxer’s promoter is required to

3 grant such rights with respect to a boxer, as a

4 condition precedent to the boxer’s participation

5 in a professional boxing match against another

6 boxer who is under contract to the promoter.

7 ‘‘(B) A promoter exercising promotional

8 rights with respect to such boxer during the 12-

9 month period beginning on the day after the

10 last day of the promotional right period de11 scribed in subparagraph (A) may not secure ex12 clusive promotional rights from the boxer’s op13 ponents as a condition of participating in a pro14 fessional boxing match against the boxer during

15 that period, and any contract to the contrary—

16 ‘‘(i) shall be considered to be in re17 straint of trade and contrary to public pol18 icy; and

19 ‘‘(ii) unenforceable.

20 ‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be

21 construed as pre-empting any State law con22 cerning interference with contracts.

23 ‘‘(3) PROMOTIONAL RIGHTS UNDER MANDA24 TORY BOUT CONTRACTS.—Neither a promoter nor a

25 sanctioning organization may require a boxer, in a
7

S 305 ES

1 contract arising from a professional boxing match

2 that is a mandatory bout under the rules of the

3 sanctioning organization, to grant promotional rights

4 to any promoter for a future professional boxing

5 match.

6 ‘‘(b) EMPLOYMENT AS CONDITION OF PROMOTING,

7 ETC.—No person who is a licensee, manager, match8 maker, or promoter may require a boxer to employ, retain,

9 or provide compensation to any individual or business en10 terprise (whether operating in corporate form or not) rec11 ommended or designated by that person as a condition

12 of—

13 ‘‘(1) such person’s working with the boxer as a

14 licensee, manager, matchmaker, or promoter;

15 ‘‘(2) such person’s arranging for the boxer to

16 participate in a professional boxing match; or

17 ‘‘(3) such boxer’s participation in a professional

18 boxing match.

19 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEMENT.—

20 ‘‘(1) PROMOTION AGREEMENT.—A provision in

21 a contract between a promoter and a boxer, or be22 tween promoters with respect to a boxer, that vio23 lates subsection (a) is contrary to public policy and

24 unenforceable at law.
8

S 305 ES

1 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT.—In any ac2 tion brought against a boxer to recover money

3 (whether as damages or as money owed) for acting

4 as a licensee, manager, matchmaker, or promoter for

5 the boxer, the court, arbitrator, or administrative

6 body before which the action is brought may deny

7 recovery in whole or in part under the contract as

8 contrary to public policy if the employment, reten9 tion, or compensation that is the subject of the ac10 tion was obtained in violation of subsection (b).’’.

11 (b) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—Section 9 of such Act

12 (15 U.S.C. 6308) is amended by—

13 (1) striking ‘‘No member’’ and inserting ‘‘(a)

14 REGULATORY PERSONNEL.—No member’’; and

15 (2) adding at the end thereof the following:

16 ‘‘(b) FIREWALL BETWEEN PROMOTERS AND MAN17 AGERS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for—

19 ‘‘(A) a boxer’s promoter (or a promoter

20 who is required to be licensed under State law)

21 to have a direct or indirect financial interest in

22 that boxer’s licensed manager or management

23 company; or

24 ‘‘(B) a licensed manager or management

25 company (or a manager or management com-
9

S 305 ES

1 pany that, under State law, is required to be li2 censed)—

3 ‘‘(i) to have a direct or indirect finan4 cial interest in the promotion of a boxer; or

5 ‘‘(ii) to be employed by or receive

6 compensation or other benefits from a pro7 moter,

8 except for amounts received as consideration

9 under the manager’s contract with the boxer.

10 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR SELF-PROMOTION AND

11 MANAGEMENT.—Paragraph (1) does not prohibit a

12 boxer from acting as his own promoter or man13 ager.’’.

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

15 subsection (a) apply to contracts executed after the date

16 of enactment of this Act.

17 SEC. 5. SANCTIONING ORGANIZATION INTEGRITY RE18 FORMS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Professional Boxing Safety

20 Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), as amended by sec21 tion 4 of this Act, is amended by—

22 (1) redesignating section 16, as redesignated by

23 section 4 of this Act, as section 17; and

24 (2) inserting after section 15 the following:
10

S 305 ES

1 ‘‘SEC. 16. SANCTIONING ORGANIZATIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) OBJECTIVE CRITERIA.—A sanctioning organiza3 tion shall establish objective and consistent written criteria

4 for the ratings of professional boxers.

5 ‘‘(b) APPEALS PROCESS.—A sanctioning organization

6 shall establish and publish an appeals procedure that af7 fords a boxer rated by that organization a reasonable op8 portunity, without the payment of any fee, to submit infor9 mation to contest its rating of the boxer. Under the proce10 dure, the sanctioning organization shall, within 14 days

11 after receiving a request from a boxer questioning that

12 organization’s rating of the boxer—

13 ‘‘(1) provide to the boxer a written explanation

14 of the organization’s criteria, its rating of the boxer,

15 and the rationale or basis for its rating (including

16 any response to any specific questions submitted by

17 the boxer); and

18 ‘‘(2) submit a copy of its explanation to the

19 President of the Association of Boxing Commissions

20 of the United States and to the boxing commission

21 of the boxer’s domiciliary State.

22 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE IN RATING.—If a

23 sanctioning organization changes its rating of a boxer who

24 is included, before the change, in the top 10 boxers rated

25 by that organization, or who, as a result of the change

26 is included in the top 10 boxers rated by that organization,
11

S 305 ES

1 then, after changing the boxer’s rating, the organization

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(1) within 5 business days mail notice of the

4 change and a written explanation of the reasons for

5 its change in that boxer’s rating to the boxer at the

6 boxer’s last known address;

7 ‘‘(2) immediately post a copy of the notice and

8 the explanation on its Internet website or homepage,

9 if any, for a period of not less than 30 days; and

10 ‘‘(3) mail a copy of the notice and the expla11 nation to the President of the Association of Boxing

12 Commissions if the organization does not have an

13 address for the boxer or does not have an Internet

14 website or homepage.

15 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—

16 ‘‘(1) FTC FILING.—Not later than January 31

17 of each year, a sanctioning organization shall submit

18 to the Federal Trade Commission—

19 ‘‘(A) a complete description of the organi20 zation’s ratings criteria, policies, and general

21 sanctioning fee schedule;

22 ‘‘(B) the bylaws of the organization;

23 ‘‘(C) the appeals procedure of the organi24 zation; and
12

S 305 ES

1 ‘‘(D) a list and business address of the or2 ganization’s officials who vote on the ratings of

3 boxers.

4 ‘‘(2) FORMAT; UPDATES.—A sanctioning orga5 nization shall—

6 ‘‘(A) provide the information required

7 under paragraph (1) in writing, and, for any

8 document greater than 2 pages in length, also

9 in electronic form; and

10 ‘‘(B) promptly notify the Federal Trade

11 Commission of any material change in the in12 formation submitted.

13 ‘‘(3) FTC TO MAKE INFORMATION AVAILABLE

14 TO PUBLIC.—The Federal Trade Commission shall

15 make information received under this subsection

16 available to the public. The Commission may assess

17 sanctioning organizations a fee to offset the costs it

18 incurs in processing the information and making it

19 available to the public.

20 ‘‘(4) INTERNET POSTING.—In addition to sub21 mitting the information required by paragraph (1)

22 to the Federal Trade Commission, a sanctioning or23 ganization shall provide the information to the pub24 lic by maintaining a website on the Internet that—
13

S 305 ES

1 ‘‘(A) is readily accessible by the general

2 public using generally available search engines

3 and does not require a password or payment of

4 a fee for full access to all the information;

5 ‘‘(B) contains all the information required

6 to be submitted to the Federal Trade Commis7 sion by paragraph (1) in an easy to search and

8 use format; and

9 ‘‘(C) is updated whenever there is a mate10 rial change in the information.’’.

11 (b) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—Section 9 of such Act

12 (15 U.S.C. 6308), as amended by section 4 of this Act,

13 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

14 ‘‘(c) SANCTIONING ORGANIZATIONS.—

15 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION ON RECEIPTS.—Except as

16 provided in paragraph (2), no officer or employee of

17 a sanctioning organization may receive any com18 pensation, gift, or benefit directly or indirectly from

19 a promoter, boxer, or manager.

20 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does not

21 apply to—

22 ‘‘(A) the receipt of payment by a promoter,

23 boxer, or manager of a sanctioning organiza24 tion’s published fee for sanctioning a profes25 sional boxing match or reasonable expenses in
14

S 305 ES

1 connection therewith if the payment is reported

2 to the responsible boxing commission under sec3 tion 17; or

4 ‘‘(B) the receipt of a gift or benefit of de

5 minimis value.’’.

6 (c) SANCTIONING ORGANIZATION DEFINED.—Sec7 tion 2 of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15

8 U.S.C. 6301) is amended by adding at the end thereof

9 the following:

10 ‘‘(11) SANCTIONING ORGANIZATION.—The term

11 ‘sanctioning organization’ means an organization

12 that ranks boxers or sanctions professional boxing

13 matches in the United States—

14 ‘‘(A) between boxers who are residents of

15 different States; or

16 ‘‘(B) that are advertised, otherwise pro17 moted, or broadcast (including closed circuit

18 television) in interstate commerce.’’.

19 SEC. 6. PUBLIC INTEREST DISCLOSURES TO STATE BOXING

20 COMMISSIONS.

21 The Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15

22 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), as amended by section 5 of this Act,

23 is amended by—

24 (1) redesignating section 17, as redesignated by

25 section 5 of this Act, as section 18; and
15

S 305 ES

1 (2) inserting after section 16 the following:

2 ‘‘SEC. 17. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES TO STATE BOXING COM3 MISSIONS.

4 ‘‘(a) SANCTIONING ORGANIZATIONS.—Before sanc5 tioning or authorizing a professional boxing match in a

6 State, a sanctioning organization shall provide to the box7 ing commission of, or responsible for regulating matches

8 in, that State a written statement of—

9 ‘‘(1) all charges, fees, and costs the organiza10 tion will assess any boxer participating in that

11 match;

12 ‘‘(2) all payments, benefits, complimentary ben13 efits, and fees the organization will receive for its af14 filiation with the event, from the promoter, host of

15 the event, and all other sources; and

16 ‘‘(3) such additional information as the commis17 sion may require.

18 A sanctioning organization that receives compensation

19 from any source to refrain from exercising its authority

20 or jurisdiction over, or withholding its sanction of, a pro21 fessional boxing match in any State shall provide the in22 formation required by paragraphs (2) and (3) to the box23 ing commission of that State.

24 ‘‘(b) PROMOTERS.—Before a professional boxing

25 match organized, promoted, or produced by a promoter
16

S 305 ES

1 is held in a State, the promoter shall provide to the boxing

2 commission of, or responsible for regulating matches in,

3 that State—

4 ‘‘(1) a copy of any agreement in writing to

5 which the promoter is a party with any boxer par6 ticipating in the match;

7 ‘‘(2) a statement in writing made under penalty

8 of perjury that there are no other agreements, writ9 ten or oral, between the promoter and the boxer with

10 respect to that match; and

11 ‘‘(3) a statement in writing of—

12 ‘‘(A) all fees, charges, and expenses that

13 will be assessed by or through the promoter on

14 the boxer pertaining to the event, including any

15 portion of the boxer’s purse that the promoter

16 will receive, and training expenses;

17 ‘‘(B) all payments, gift, or benefits the

18 promoter is providing to any sanctioning orga19 nization affiliated with the event; and

20 ‘‘(C) any reduction in the amount or per21 centage of a boxer’s purse after—

22 ‘‘(i) a previous agreement concerning

23 the amount or percentage of that purse

24 has been reached between the promoter

25 and the boxer; or
17

S 305 ES

1 ‘‘(ii) a purse bid held for the event.

2 ‘‘(c) JUDGES.—Before participating in a professional

3 boxing match as a judge in any State, an individual shall

4 provide to the boxing commission of, or responsible for

5 regulating matches in, that State a statement in writing

6 of all payments, including reimbursement for expenses,

7 and any other benefits that individual will receive from

8 any source for judging that match.

9 ‘‘(d) INFORMATION TO BE AVAILABLE TO STATE AT10 TORNEY GENERAL.—A promoter shall make information

11 received under this section available to the chief law en12 forcement officer of the State in which the match is to

13 be held upon request.

14 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTION.—The requirements of this section

15 do not apply in connection with a professional boxing

16 match scheduled to last less than 10 rounds.

17 ‘‘(f) CONFIDENTIALITY OF AGREEMENTS.—Neither a

18 boxing commission nor an Attorney General may disclose

19 to the public any matter furnished by a promoter under

20 subsection (b)(1) or subsection (d) except to the extent

21 required in public legal, administrative, or judicial pro22 ceedings brought against that promoter under State law.’’.

23 SEC. 7. ENFORCEMENT.

24 Section 10 of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of

25 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6309) is amended by—
18

S 305 ES

1 (1) inserting a comma and ‘‘other than section

2 9(b), 15, 16, 17,’’ after ‘‘this Act’’ in subsection

3 (b)(1);

4 (2) redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) of

5 subsection (b) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respec6 tively, and inserting after paragraph (1) the fol7 lowing:

8 ‘‘(2) VIOLATION OF ANTI-EXPLOITATION, SANC9 TIONING ORGANIZATION, OR DISCLOSURE PROVI10 SIONS.—Any person who knowingly violates any pro11 vision of section 9(b), 9(c), 15, 16, 17, or 18 of this

12 Act shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned for not

13 more than 1 year or fined not more than—

14 ‘‘(A) $100,000; and

15 ‘‘(B) if a violation occurs in connection

16 with a professional boxing match the gross rev17 enues for which exceed $2,000,000, an addi18 tional amount which bears the same ratio to

19 $100,000 as the amount of the gross revenues

20 in excess of $2,000,000 bears to $2,000,000,

21 or both.’’;

22 (3) striking in ‘‘section 9’’ in paragraph (3), as

23 redesignated, and inserting ‘‘section 9(a)’’; and

24 (4) adding at the end thereof the following:
19

S 305 ES

1 ‘‘(c) ACTIONS BY STATES.—Whenever the chief law

2 enforcement officer of any State has reason to believe that

3 a person or organization is engaging in practices which

4 violate any requirement of this Act, the State, as parens

5 patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of its residents

6 in an appropriate district court of the United States—

7 ‘‘(1) to enjoin the holding of any professional

8 boxing match that involves such practices;

9 ‘‘(2) to enforce compliance with this Act;

10 ‘‘(3) to obtain the fines provided under sub11 section (b) or appropriate restitution; or

12 ‘‘(4) to obtain such other relief as the court

13 may deem appropriate.

14 ‘‘(d) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—Any boxer who

15 suffers economic injury as a result of a violation of any

16 provision of this Act may bring an action in the appro17 priate Federal or State court and recover the damages suf18 fered, court costs, and reasonable attorneys fees and ex19 penses.

20 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT AGAINST FEDERAL TRADE

21 COMMISSION, STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL, ETC.—Noth22 ing in this Act authorizes the enforcement of—

23 ‘‘(1) any provision of this Act against the Fed24 eral Trade Commission, the United States Attorney
20

S 305 ES

1 General, the chief legal officer of any State for act2 ing or failing to act in an official capacity;

3 ‘‘(2) subsection (d) of this section against a

4 State or political subdivision of a State, or any agen5 cy or instrumentality thereof; or

6 ‘‘(3) section 15 against a boxer acting in his ca7 pacity as a boxer.’’.

8 SEC. 8. PROFESSIONAL BOXING SAFETY ACT AMENDMENTS.

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Professional

10 Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6301), as amended

11 by section 5(c) of this Act, is amended by adding at the

12 end thereof the following:

13 ‘‘(12) SUSPENSION.—The term ‘suspension’ in14 cludes within its meaning the revocation of a boxing

15 license.’’.

16 (b) RENEWAL PERIOD FOR IDENTIFICATION

17 CARDS.—Section 6(b)(2) of the Professional Boxing Safe18 ty Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6305(b)(2)) is amended by

19 striking ‘‘2 years.’’ and inserting ‘‘4 years.’’.

20 (c) STATE BOXING COMMISSION PROCEDURES.—

21 Section 7(a)(2) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 6306(a)(2)) is

22 amended by—

23 (1) striking ‘‘or’’ in subparagraph (C);

24 (2) striking ‘‘documents.’’ at the end of sub25 paragraph (D) and inserting ‘‘documents; or’’; and
21

S 305 ES

1 (3) adding at the end thereof the following:

2 ‘‘(E) unsportsmanlike conduct or other in3 appropriate behavior inconsistent with generally

4 accepted methods of competition in a profes5 sional boxing match.’’.

6 (d) STANDARDIZED PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS.—Sec7 tion 5(1) of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996

8 (15 U.S.C. 6304(1)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘exam9 ination’’ the following: ‘‘, based on guidelines endorsed by

10 the American Medical Association, including a circulo-res11 piratory check and a neurological examination,’’.

12 (e) CAT SCANS.—Section 6(b)(2) of the Professional

13 Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6305(b)(2)) is

14 amended by inserting before the period the following:

15 ‘‘and, with respect to such renewal, present proof from

16 a physician that such boxer has taken a computerized

17 axial tomography (CAT) scan within the 30-day period

18 preceding that date on which the renewal application is

19 submitted and that no brain damage from boxing has been

20 detected.

21 SEC. 9. REQUIREMENTS FOR CONTRACTS BETWEEN BOX22 ERS AND BROADCASTING COMPANIES.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Professional Boxing Safety

24 Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), as amended by sec25 tion 6, is amended—
22

S 305 ES

1 (1) by redesignating section 18, as redesignated

2 by section 6 of this Act, as section 19; and

3 (2) by inserting after section 17 the following:

4 ‘‘SEC. 18. CONTRACTS BETWEEN BOXERS AND BROAD5 CASTING COMPANIES.

6 ‘‘(a) CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—Any contract be7 tween a boxer and a broadcaster for the broadcast of a

8 boxing match in which that boxer is competing shall—

9 ‘‘(1) include mutual obligations between the

10 parties; and

11 ‘‘(2) specify either—

12 ‘‘(A) the number of bouts to be broadcast;

13 or

14 ‘‘(B) the duration of the contract.

15 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITIONS.—A broadcaster may not—

16 ‘‘(1) require a boxer to employ a relative or as17 sociate of the broadcaster in any capacity as a condi18 tion of entering into a contract with the broadcaster;

19 ‘‘(2) have a direct or indirect financial interest

20 in the boxer’s manager or management company; or

21 ‘‘(3) make a payment, or provide other consid22 eration (other than of a de minimus amount or

23 value) to a sanctioning organization or any officer or

24 employee of such an organization in connection with

25 any boxer with whom the broadcaster has a contract,
23

S 305 ES

1 or against whom a boxer with whom a broadcaster

2 has a contract is competing.

3 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF REDUCTION IN AGREED

4 AMOUNT.—If a broadcaster has a contract with a boxer

5 to broadcast a match in which that boxer is competing,

6 and the broadcaster reduces the amount it agreed to pay

7 the boxer under that contract (whether unilaterally or by

8 mutual agreement), the broadcaster shall notify, in writing

9 within 48 hours after the reduction, the supervising State

10 commission for that match of the reduction.

11 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT.—

12 ‘‘(1) CONTRACT.—A provision in a contract be13 tween a broadcaster and a boxer that violates sub14 section (a) is contrary to public policy and unen15 forceable at law.

16 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITIONS; NOTIFICATION.—For en17 forcement of subsections (b) and (c), see section

18 10.’’.

19 (b) BROADCASTER DEFINED.—Section 2 of the Pro20 fessional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6301),

21 as amended by section 8 of this Act, is amended by adding

22 at the end thereof the following:

23 ‘‘(13) BROADCASTER.—The term ‘broadcaster’

24 means any person who is a licensee as that term is
24

S 305 ES

1 defined in section 3(24) of the Communications Act

2 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153(24)).’’.

Passed the Senate July 27, 1999.

Attest:

Secretary.
106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 305

AN ACT

To reform unfair and anticompetitive practices in

the professional boxing industry.
S 305 ES——5

S 305 ES——4S 305 ES——3S 305 ES——2