Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act
PL 106-210 (H.R.1832), enacted 05/26/2000

PUBLIC LAW 106-210—MAY 26, 2000 
114 STAT. 321 
Public Law 106-210 
106th Congress 
An Act 
To reform unfair and anticompetitive practices in the professional boxing industry. 
May 26, 2000 
[H.R. 1832] 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
Muhammad Ali 
Boxing Reform 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
Act. 
This Act may be cited as the "Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform 
^^.Y^^ ^^^^ 
Act". 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
15 USC 6301 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Professional boxing differs from other major, interstate 
professional sports industries in the United States in that it 
operates without any private sector association, league, or cen-
tralized industry organization to establish uniform and appro-
priate business practices and ethical standards. This has led 
to repeated occurrences of disreputable and coercive business 
practices in the boxing industry, to the detriment of professional 
boxers nationwide. 
(2) State officials are the proper regulators of professional 
boxing events, and must protect the welfare of professional 
boxers and serve the public interest by closely supervising 
boxing activity in their jurisdiction. State boxing commissions 
do not currently receive adequate information to determine 
whether boxers competing in their jurisdiction are being sub-
jected to contract terms and business practices which may 
violate State regulations, or are onerous and confiscatory. 
(3) Promoters who engage in illegal, coercive, or unethical 
business practices can take advantage of the lack of equitable 
business standards in the sport by holding boxing events in 
States with weaker regulatory oversight. 
(4) The sanctioning organizations which have proliferated 
in the boxing industry have not established credible and objec-
tive criteria to rate professional boxers, and operate with vir-
tually no industry or public oversight. Their ratings are suscep-
tible to manipulation, have deprived boxers of fair opportunities 
for advancement, and have undermined public confidence in 
the integrity of the sport. 
(5) Open competition in the professional boxing industry 
has been significantly interfered with by restrictive and anti-
competitive business practices of certain promoters and sanc-
tioning bodies, to the detriment of the athletes and the ticket-
buying public. Common practices of promoters and sanctioning 
organizations represent restraints of interstate trade in the 
United States. 
114 STAT. 322 
PUBLIC LAW 106-210—MAY 26, 2000 
15 u s e 6301 
note. 
15 use 
6308-6313, 6301 
note. 
Deadline. 
Guidelines. 
15 u s e 6307a. 
15 u s e 6307b. 
Applicability. 
(6) It is necessary and appropriate to establish national 
contracting reforms to protect professional boxers and prevent 
exploitive business practices, and to require enhanced financial 
disclosures to State athletic commissions to improve the public 
oversight of the sport. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are— 
(1) to protect the rights and welfare of professional boxers 
on an interstate basis by preventing certain exploitive, oppres-
sive, and unethical business practices; 
(2) to assist State boxing commissions in their efforts to 
provide more effective public oversight of the sport; and 
(3) to promote honorable competition in professional boxing 
and enhance the overall integrity of the industry. 
SEC. 4. PROTECTING BOXERS FROM EXPLOITATION. 
The Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6301 
et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating sections 9 through 15 as sections 17 
through 23, respectively; and 
(2) by inserting after section 8 the following new sections: 
"SEC. 9. CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS. 
"Within 2 years after the date of the enactment of the 
Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, the Association of Boxing 
Commissions (ABC) shall develop and shall approve by a vote 
of no less than a majority of its member State boxing commissioners, 
guidelines for minimum contractual provisions that should be 
included in bout agreements and boxing contracts. It is the sense 
of the Congress that State boxing commissions should follow these 
ABC guidelines. 
"SEC. 
10. 
PROTECTION 
FROM 
COERCIVE 
CONTRACTS. 
"(a) GENERAL RULE.— 
"(1)(A) A contract provision shall be considered to be in 
restraint of trade, contrary to public policy, and unenforceable 
against any boxer to the extent that it— 
"(i) is a coercive provision described in subparagraph 
(B) and is for a period greater than 12 months; or 
"(ii) is a coercive provision described in subparagraph 
(B) and the other boxer under contract to the promoter 
came under that contract pursuant to a coercive provision 
described in subparagraph (B). 
"(B) A coercive provision described in this subparagraph 
is a contract provision that grants any rights between a boxer 
and a promoter, or between promoters with respect to a boxer, 
if the boxer is required to grant such rights, or a boxer's 
promoter is required to grant such rights with respect to a 
boxer to another promoter, as a condition precedent to the 
boxer's participation in a professional boxing match against 
another boxer who is under contract to the promoter. 
"(2) This subsection shall only apply to contracts entered 
into after the date of the enactment of the Muhammad Ali 
Boxing Reform Act. 
"(3) No subsequent contract provision extending any rights 
or compensation covered in paragraph (1) shall be enforceable 
against a boxer if the effective date of the contract containing 
PUBLIC LAW 106-210—MAY 26, 2000 
114 STAT. 323 
such provision is earlier than 3 months before the expiration 
of the relevant time period set forth in paragraph (1). 
"(b) 
PROMOTIONAL RIGHTS UNDER MANDATORY BOUT 
CON-
TRACTS.—No boxing service provider may require a boxer to grant 
any future promotional rights as a requirement of competing in 
a professional boxing match that is a mandatory bout under the 
rules of a sanctioning organization. 
"(c) 
PROTECTION FROM COERCIVE CONTRACTS WITH BROAD-
CASTERS.—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'. 
"SEC. 11. SANCTIONING ORGANIZATIONS. 
"(a) OBJECTIVE CRITERIA.—Within 2 years after the date of 
the enactment of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, the 
Association of Boxing Commissions shall develop and shall approve 
by a vote of no less than a majority of its member State boxing 
commissioners, guidelines for objective and consistent written cri-
teria for the ratings of professional boxers. It is the sense of the 
Congress that sanctioning bodies and State boxing commissions 
should follow these ABC guidelines. 
"(b) APPEALS PROCESS.—A sanctioning organization shall not 
be entitled to receive any compensation, directly or indirectly, in 
connection with a boxing match, until it provides the boxers with 
notice that the sanctioning organization shall, within 7 days after 
receiving a request from a boxer questioning that organization's 
rating of the boxer— 
"(1) provide to the boxer a written explanation of the 
organization's criteria, its rating of the boxer, and the rationale 
or basis for its rating (including a response to any specific 
questions submitted by the boxer); and 
"(2) submit a copy of its explanation to the Association 
of Boxing Commissions. 
"(c) NOTIFICATION 
OF CHANGE 
IN RATING.—A sanctioning 
organization shall not be entitled to receive any compensation, 
directly or indirectly, in connection with a boxing match, until, 
with respect to a change in the rating of a boxer previously rated 
by such organization in the top 10 boxers, the organization— 
"(1) posts a copy, within 7 days of such change, on its 
Internet website or home page, if any, including an explanation 
of such change, for a period of not less than 30 days; and 
"(2) provides a copy of the rating change and explanation 
to an association to which at least a majority of the State 
boxing commissions belong. 
"(d) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.— 
"(1) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION FILING.—A sanctioning 
organization shall not be entitled to receive any compensation 
directly or indirectly in connection with a boxing match unless, 
not later than January 31 of each year, it submits to the 
Federal Trade Commission and to the ABC— 
"(A) a complete description of the organization's ratings 
criteria, policies, and general sanctioning fee schedule; 
"(B) the bylaws of the organization; 
15 u s e 6307c. 
Deadline. 
Guidelines. 
114 STAT. 324 
PUBLIC LAW 106-210—MAY 26, 2000 
"(C) the appeals procedure of the organization for a 
boxer's rating; and 
"(D) a hst and business address of the organization's 
officials who vote on the ratings of boxers. 
"(2) FORMAT; UPDATES.—A sanctioning organization shall— 
"(A) provide the information required under paragraph 
(1) in writing, and, for any document greater than 2 pages 
in length, also in electronic form; and 
Notification. 
"(B) promptly notify the Federal Trade Commission 
of any material change in the information submitted. 
"(3) FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION TO MAKE INFORMATION 
AVAILABLE TO PUBLIC.—The Federal Trade Commission shall 
make information received under this subsection available to 
the public. The Commission may assess sanctioning organiza-
tions a fee to offset the costs it incurs in processing the informa-
tion and making it available to the public. 
"(4) INTERNET ALTERNATIVE.—In lieu of submitting the 
information required by paragraph (1) to the Federal Trade 
Commission, a sanctioning organization may provide the 
information to the public by maintaining a website on the 
Internet that— 
"(A) is readily accessible by the general public using 
generally available search engines and does not require 
a password or payment of a fee for full access to all the 
information; 
"(B) contains all the information required to be sub-
mitted to the Federal Trade Commission by paragraph 
(1) in an easy to search and use format; and 
"(C) is updated whenever there is a material change 
in the information. 
15 use 6307d. 
"SEC. 12. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES TO STATE BOXING COMMISSIONS 
BY SANCTIONING ORGANIZATIONS. 
"A sanctioning organization shall not be entitled to receive 
any compensation directly or indirectly in connection with a boxing 
match until it provides to the boxing commission responsible for 
regulating the match in a State a statement o
f
— 
"(1) all charges, fees, and costs the organization will assess 
any boxer participating in that match; 
"(2) all payments, benefits, complimentary benefits, and 
fees the organization will receive for its affiliation with the 
event, from the promoter, host of the event, and all other 
sources; and 
"(3) such additional information as the commission may 
require. 
15 use 6307e. 
"SEC. 13. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES FOR PROMOTERS. 
"(a) DISCLOSURES TO THE BOXING COMMISSIONS.—A promoter 
shall not be entitled to receive any compensation directly or 
indirectly in connection with a boxing match until it provides to 
the boxing commission responsible for regulating the match in 
a State a statement o
f
— 
"(1) a copy of any agreement in writing to which the pro-
moter is a party with any boxer participating in the match; 
"(2) a statement made under penalty of perjury that there 
are no other agreements, written or oral, between the promoter 
and the boxer with respect to that match; and 
PUBLIC LAW 106-210—MAY 26, 2000 
114 STAT. 325 
"(3)(A) all fees, charges, and expenses that will be assessed 
by or through the promoter on the boxer pertaining to the 
event, including any portion of the boxer's purse that the pro-
moter will receive, and training expenses; 
"(B) all payments, gifts, or benefits the promoter is pro-
viding to any sanctioning organization affiliated with the event; 
and 
"(C) any reduction in a boxer's purse contrary to a previous 
agreement between the promoter and the boxer or a purse 
bid held for the event. 
"(b) DISCLOSURES TO THE BOXER.—A promoter shall not be 
entitled to receive any compensation directly or indirectly in connec-
tion with a boxing match until it provides to the boxer it promotes— 
"(1) the amounts of any compensation or consideration 
that a promoter has contracted to receive from such match; 
"(2) all fees, charges, and expenses that will be assessed 
by or through the promoter on the boxer pertaining to the 
event, including any portion of the boxer's purse that the pro-
moter will receive, and training expenses; and 
"(3) any reduction in a boxer's purse contrary to a previous 
agreement between the promoter and the boxer or a purse 
bid held for the event. 
"(c) INFORMATION TO BE AVAILABLE TO STATE ATTORNEY GEN-
ERAL.—A promoter shall make information required to be disclosed 
under this section available to the chief law enforcement officer 
of the State in which the match is to be held upon request of 
such officer. 
"SEC. 14. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES FOR JUDGES AND REFEREES. 
"A judge or referee shall not be entitled to receive any com-
pensation, directly or indirectly, in connection with a boxing match 
until it provides to the boxing commission responsible for regulating 
the match in a State a statement of all consideration, including 
reimbursement for expenses, that will be received from any source 
for participation in the match. 
"SEC. 15. CONFIDENTIALITY. 
"(a) IN GENERAL.—Neither a boxing commission or an Attorney 
General may disclose to the public any matter furnished by a 
promoter under section 13 except to the extent required in a legal, 
administrative, or judicial proceeding. 
"(b) EFFECT OF CONTRARY STATE LAW.—If a State law governing 
a boxing commission requires that information that would be fur-
nished by a promoter under section 13 shall be made public, then 
a promoter is not required to file such information with such State 
if the promoter files such information with the ABC. 
"SEC. 16. JUDGES AND REFEREES. 
"No person may arrange, promote, organize, produce, or fight 
in a professional boxing match unless all referees and judges partici-
pating in the match have been certified and approved by the boxing 
commission responsible for regulating the match in the State where 
the match is held.". 
SEC. 5. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. 
Section 17 of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 
U.S.C. 6308) (as redesignated by section 4 of this Act) is amended— 
15 u s e 6307f. 
15 u s e 6307g. 
15 u s e 6307h. 
114 STAT. 326 
PUBLIC LAW 106-210—MAY 26, 2000 
(1) in the first sentence by striking "No member" and 
inserting "(a) REGULATORY PERSONNEL.—No member"; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
"(b) FIREWALL BETWEEN PROMOTERS AND MANAGERS.— 
"(1) IN GENERAL.—It is unlawful for— 
"(A) a promoter to have a direct or indirect financial 
interest in the management of a boxer; or 
"(B) a manager— 
"(i) to have a direct or indirect finsincial interest 
in the promotion of a boxer; or 
"(ii) to be employed by or receive compensation 
or other benefits from a promoter, except for amounts 
received as consideration under the manager's contract 
with the boxer. 
"(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1)— 
"(A) does not prohibit a boxer from acting as his own 
promoter or manager; and 
"(B) only applies to boxers participating in a boxing 
match of 10 rounds or more. 
"(c) SANCTIONING ORGANIZATIONS.— 
"(1) PROHIBITION ON RECEIPTS.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), no officer or employee of a sanctioning organization 
may receive any compensation, gift, or benefit, directly or 
indirectly, from a promoter, boxer, or manager. 
"(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to— 
"(A) the receipt of payment by a promoter, boxer, or 
manager of a sanctioning organization's published fee for 
sanctioning a professional boxing match or reasonable 
expenses in connection therewith if the pa5mrient is reported 
to the responsible boxing commission; or 
"(B) the receipt of a gift or benefit of de minimis 
value.". 
SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT. 
Subsection (b) of section 18 of the Professional Boxing Safety 
Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6309) (as redesignated by section 4 of 
this Act) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1) by inserting a comma and "other 
than section 9(b), 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, or 16," after "this Act"; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
(3) and (4), respectively; 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following: 
"(2) 
VIOLATION 
OF 
ANTIEXPLOITATION, 
SANCTIONING 
ORGANIZATION, OR DISCLOSURE PROVISIONS.—^Any person who 
knowingly violates any provision of section 9(b), 10, 11, 12, 
13, 14, or 16 of this Act shall, upon conviction, be imprisoned 
for not more than 1 year or fined not more than— 
"(A) $100,000; and 
"(B) if a violation occurs in connection with a profes-
sional boxing match the gross revenues for which exceed 
$2,000,000, an additional amount which bears the same 
ratio to $100,000 as the amount of such revenues compared 
to $2,000,000, or both."; and 
(4) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by paragraph 2 of 
this subsection) by striking "section 9" and inserting "section 
17(a)"; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
PUBLIC LAW 106-210—MAY 26, 2000 
114 STAT. 327 
"•'(c) ACTIONS BY STATES.—Whenever the chief law enforcement 
officer of any State has reason to beHeve that a person or organiza-
tion is engaging in practices which violate any requirement of 
this Act, the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action 
on behalf of its residents in an appropriate district court of the 
United States— 
"(1) to enjoin the holding of any professional boxing match 
which the practice involves; 
"(2) to enforce compliance with this Act; 
"(3) to obtain the fines provided under subsection (b) or 
appropriate restitution; or 
"(4) to obtain such other relief as the court may deem 
appropriate. 
"(d) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.—^Any boxer who suffers eco-
nomic injury as a result of a violation of any provision of this 
Act may bring an action in the appropriate Federal or State court 
and recover the damages suffered, court costs, and reasonable attor-
neys fees and expenses. 
"(e) 
ENFORCEMENT 
AGAINST 
FEDERAL 
TRADE 
COMMISSION, 
STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL, ETC.—Nothing in this Act authorizes 
the enforcement o
f
— 
"(1) any provision of this Act against the Federal Trade 
Commission, the United States Attorney General, or the chief 
legal officer of any State for acting or failing to act in an 
official capacity; 
"(2) subsection (d) of this section against a State or political 
subdivision of a State, or any agency or instrumentality thereof; 
or 
"(3) section 10 against a boxer acting in his capacity as 
a boxer.". 
SEC. 7. ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2(a) of the Professional Boxing Safety 
Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6301(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (9) by inserting after "match." the fol-
lowing: "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, pro-
moting, and producing the match; and 
"(B) there is no other person primarily responsible 
for organizing, promoting, and producing the match."; 
(2) in paragraph (10) by striking the period at the end 
and inserting ", including the Virgin Islands."; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
"(11) EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE CONTRACT.—The term 'effec-
tive date of the contract' means the day upon which a boxer 
becomes legally bound by the contract. 
"(12) BOXING SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 'boxing service 
provider' means a promoter, manager, sanctioning body, 
licensee, or matchmaker. 
114 STAT. 328 
PUBLIC LAW 106-210—MAY 26, 2000 
"(13) CONTRACT PROVISION.—The term 'contract provision' 
means any legal obligation between a boxer and a boxing service 
provider. 
"(14) SANCTIONING ORGANIZATION.—The term 'sanctioning 
organization' means an organization that sanctions professional 
boxing matches in the United States— 
"(A) between boxers who are residents of different 
States; or 
"(B) that are advertised, otherwise promoted, or broad-
cast (including closed circuit television) in interstate com-
merce. 
"(15) SUSPENSION.—The term 'suspension' includes within 
its meaning the revocation of a boxing license.". 
(b) STATE BOXING COMMISSION PROCEDURES.—Section 7(a)(2) 
of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6306(a)(2)) 
is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (C) by striking "or"; 
(2) in subparagraph (D) by striking "documents." at the 
end and inserting "documents; or"; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
"(E) unsportsmanlike conduct or other inappropriate 
behavior inconsistent with generally accepted methods of 
competition in a professional boxing match.". 
(c) RENEWAL 
PERIOD FOR IDENTIFICATION CARDS.—Section 
6(b)(2) of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 
6305(b)(2)) is amended by striking "2 years." and inserting "4 
years.". 
(d) REVIEW OF SUSPENSIONS.—Section 7(a)(3) of the Professional 
Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6306(a)(3)) is amended by 
striking "boxer" and inserting "boxer, licensee, manager, match-
maker, promoter, or other boxing service provider". 
(e) ALTERNATIVE SUPERVISION.—Section 4 of the Professional 
Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6303) is amended— 
(1) by striking "No person" and inserting "(a) No person"; 
and 
(2) by inserting at the end thereof the following: 
"(b) For the purpose of this Act, if no State commission is 
available to supervise a boxing match according to subsection (a), 
then— 
"(1) the match may not be held unless it is supervised 
by an association of boxing commissions to which at least 
a majority of the States belong; and 
"(2) any reporting or other requirement relating to a super-
vising commission allowed under this section shall be deemed 
to refer to the entity described in paragraph (1).". 
(f) HEALTH AND SAFETY DISCLOSURES.—Section 6 of the Profes-
sional Boxing Safety Act of 1996 (15 U.S.C. 6305) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
PUBLIC LAW 106-210—MAY 26, 2000 
114 STAT. 329 
"(c) HEALTH AND SAFETY DISCLOSURES.—It is the sense of the 
Congress that a boxing commission should, upon issuing an identi-
fication card to a boxer under subsection (b)(1), make a health 
and safety disclosure to that boxer as that commission considers 
appropriate. The health and safety disclosure should include the 
health and safety risks associated with boxing, and, in particular, 
the risk and frequency of brain injury and the advisability that 
a boxer periodically undergo medical procedures designed to detect 
brain injury.". 
Approved May 26, 2000. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1832 (S. 305): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 106-449, Pt. 1 (Comm. on Commerce). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 106-83 accompanying S. 305 (Comm. on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 145 (1999): Nov. 8, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 146 (2000): Apr. 7, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
May 22, House concurred in Senate amendments.