Number: RL32280
Title: Federal Regulation of Boxing: Current Law and Proposed Legislation
Authors: Nathan Brooks, American Law Division 
Abstract: For almost all of the twentieth century, the states exercised complete regulatory control over the sport of boxing. Beginning in 1960, some members of Congress began to investigate a possible federal regulatory role. It was not until the passage of the Professional Boxing Safety Act (PBSA) of 1996, however, that the federal government carved out a place for itself within boxing's regulatory framework. Four years later, Congress passed the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 2000, which, together with the PBSA forms the federal regulatory structure of boxing. This structure contains no national regulatory body, but rather consists mainly of minimum requirements with which the states must comply. Amidst concerns that the federally-mandated minimum requirements are being largely ignored, there is currently a movement to establish a national regulatory body for boxing. In the 109th Congress, Senator McCain has introduced S. 148, the Professional Boxing Amendment Act of 2005, which was passed by the Senate on May 9. Representative King has introduced his own very similar bill (H.R. 468) in the House, as has Representative Stearns (H.R. 1065). This report summarizes the current federal regulatory framework and the bills before the 109th Congress.
Pages: 13
Date: July 20, 2005