De La Hoya, Nico Ali Walsh defense of boxing may be too late
The Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act (H.R.4624) finally had the public match before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation we've all been waiting for. And it seems like Zuffa Boxing won this round.
WWE President and TKO Group board member Nick Khan made his case for passage of the Ali Revival Act, which would update the original Act, passed in 2000, he says, in ways that will benefit the sport and the fighters.
Representing the other side of the argument were former world champion and current Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya and current fighter Nico Ali Walsh, who is Muhammad Ali's grandson.
According to De La Hoya, the Ali Act corrected three major wrongs in boxing. Conflicts of interest, lack of transparency, and the exploitation of fighters. "Those protections still matter today," he declared at Wednesday's hearing.
Oscar De La Hoya, Nico Ali Walsh go on the offensive against Ali Revival Act
If Zuffa is allowed to create a universal boxing organization (UBO) that controls fighters' promotions, rankings, pay, and schedules, those protections will be eroded, Ali Walsh and De La Hoya testified.
Since the UBO serves as a promoter and governing body, mirroring the UFC model, "We should be clear about who benefits from this," De La Hoya stated, referencing pay discrepancies in the UFC.
Related: WWE President Nick Khan takes boxing to task over Ali Act
The UFC has been criticized by its own fighters for the rigid contracts they have, with little to no room to negotiate.
"If this legislation is truly about protecting fighters, why aren't MMA athletes included at all?" De La Hoya asked the Senate committee, making one of the hearing's most cogent points.
According to De La Hoya, UFC fighters have fewer choices, less leverage, and less control over their careers than boxers do, despite their sports being so similar.
"If a fighter does not want to fight, we can not force the fighter to fight," De La Hoya said. "In today's boxing system, the fighter makes the majority of the amount of money. In the system they want to implement, it will be the other way around. I think transparency is very important to the fighters."
The Ali Revival Act includes several enhancements to boxer health, including medical testing protocols, mental health insurance coverage, and anti-doping measures. But Nico Ali Walsh says that those protections can be implemented without everything else that comes with the Ali Revival Act.
He pointed out that fighters are labeled "independent contractors" under the Ali Revival Act, giving the impression that they can shop their services around. But in reality, "when the same company controls who you fight, how you're promoted, and whether you are ever seen, it's not much of a choice."
"The people controlling fighters should not also control the entire marketplace that those fighters depend on."
Related: Boxing goes and proves Dana White (partially) right again with latest mishap
UFC fighters receive under 20% of the total revenue generated, according to De La Hoya, compared to boxing, where the fighters can see up to 80%.
Boxers defend boxing from Nick Khan, Zuffa
Being on the attack has been one of the most effective strategies for Nick Khan, Dana White and Max Kellerman as they work to convince the public that the Ali Revival Act and Zuffa are good for boxing.
According to Nick Khan, boxing is completely broken, and if Zuffa is not allowed to act as a UBO, it could die. Khan offered the lack of male Olympic boxing gold medalists and the lack of major broadcasting partners as evidence that the sport is irredeemably off course from its heyday as the country's most popular.
But if that were the case, Ali Walsh wondered why UFC fighters continue to clamor for the paydays that come with stepping into the boxing ring. There have been several UFC champions who have left the sport at the top of their careers to make the money that boxing events offer.
If the sport were dying, Ali Walsh contended, the situation would be reversed and boxers would be clamoring to get into the Octagon. But they are not.
Multiple promoters competing for fighters creates leverage, for those fighters, Nico Walsh said, and Zuffa is just the first step towards monopolizing boxing in much the same way the UFC has nearly monopolized mixed martial arts.
As for the medical advancements the Ali Revival Act implements, what are they?
"Protection should be strengthened, especially around health and safety, but not used as justification to restructure the sport in a way that removes power from the fighters," Nico Walsh said. "The bill adopted by the House should not be adopted. If this bill is passed, it should not have my grandfather's name on it as it would betray the principles that the Act was created to protect."
Despite their efforts, it seems like the Senate Committee didn't hear enough to pass at least some version of the bill that received overwhelming bipartisan House support.
Related: Boxing Finally Mounts Defense of Ali Act
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This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 5:07 PM.