S. 5188: Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act of 2026

This bill would change federal boxing law to create a new category called a “unified boxing organization” and let boxers and promoters use that system if they choose. It would also add a range of health, safety, contract, and transparency rules for those organizations, while making similar changes to general professional boxing standards.

What the bill sets up

The bill would allow a private boxing association, league, or centralized organization to organize fights under a unified system of rules, rankings, and title belts. A boxer under contract with such an organization could compete against other contracted boxers under that system. The organization could use its own titles and rankings, including ones recognized from other groups.

To use this status, the organization would have to comply with the bill’s safety, contract, anti-doping, and disclosure requirements.

Health and safety requirements

The bill would increase medical requirements for boxers and for fights organized by unified boxing organizations. These include:

• More detailed pre-fight physical examinations.
• Extra brain-health testing after a knockout before a boxer can fight again.
• Additional annual medical testing for boxers age 40 or older, including a chest X-ray, blood test, and urinalysis.
• At least one additional ambulance on site during covered matches.
• At least one additional ringside physician present during the fight.
• Certification requirements for ringside physicians, starting two years after enactment.

The bill would also require health insurance for boxers that covers at least $50,000 in medical injuries from the match and $15,000 in accidental death coverage, with the insurer’s premium not paid by the boxer.

Training support and medical help

Boxers under contract with a unified boxing organization would have to be given:

• Access to training and rehabilitation facilities at reasonable cost near where they live.
• Insurance covering injuries sustained while training for a covered match.
• A medical coordinator to help with medical and licensing requirements.

Anti-doping rules

The bill would require unified boxing organizations to maintain a comprehensive anti-doping program. Among other things:

• At least half of the boxers in each covered event would have to be tested.
• Testing would occur between weigh-in and fight day.
• Tests would be done by an independent third party.
• Positive results would be reported to the organization, the relevant boxing regulator, and the Association of Boxing Commissions.
• The organization would have to enforce penalties imposed by regulators or the Association of Boxing Commissions.
• The organization could also do unannounced testing during the contract period.

The bill would require the organization to publish an annual public list of substances tested and penalties imposed.

Contract rules for boxers

The bill would place new limits on contracts between boxers and unified boxing organizations, and apply similar protections to promoter contracts as well. These rules would:

• Prevent contracts from blocking a boxer from speaking with another organization or promoter during the final 90 days of the contract, though the boxer could not sign a new deal before the current one ends.
• Set a minimum payment of $200 per scheduled round.
• Require either:
  • at least one covered match every six months, or
  • payment of at least 10 times the per-round minimum if a fight is not arranged, unless certain exceptions apply such as injury, failed drug test, or inability to fight for reasons outside the organization’s control.
• Limit most contracts to 6 years.
• Limit a boxer’s first professional promotional agreement to 3 years.

Rules on conduct, conflicts, and betting

The bill would require unified boxing organizations to adopt a conduct policy that bans people involved in a covered match from betting on that match or sharing nonpublic information that could help someone bet on the match.

It would also create a separation between the organization and managers by prohibiting officers, employees, or representatives from having a financial interest in the management of a boxer connected to a covered match. It would also bar certain payments or requests for payments related to a boxer’s ranking or participation, except for reimbursement of reasonable expenses like medical or travel costs.

Regulation and disclosure

The bill would require covered matches to comply with the relevant state, territorial, or tribal boxing commission rules, and would not allow covered matches in places without proper boxing oversight under the bill’s standards.

It would also require unified boxing organizations to submit information to the Federal Trade Commission and the Association of Boxing Commissions, including their business details and, if they run their own rankings, their ranking criteria, bylaws, appeals process, and the officials who vote on rankings. The FTC would make this information public. Organizations could instead satisfy the public disclosure requirement by maintaining a searchable public website with the same information.

The bill also says states may keep or add their own consistent laws and penalties, and that nothing in the bill would limit state disclosure rules.

Other boxing-law changes

The bill would update general boxing safety rules to require additional medical exams and testing, including:

• Physical exams with blood work.
• Dilated eye exams.
• Heart exams, with stress testing for boxers age 40 or older.
• HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C testing.
• Brain-health exams, with more intensive testing for older boxers.
• Pregnancy testing for female fighters.

It would also require drug tests for title matches and random testing for other matches, with the substances tested based on state or tribal rules, the Association of Boxing Commissions list, or the World Anti-Doping Agency list if needed. The bill would also revise the rule on judges and referees so that they must be certified and approved by the relevant state boxing commission or the Association of Boxing Commissions.

When it would apply

The bill would take effect when enacted, but its changes would apply to professional boxing matches held 180 days after enactment.

Relevant Companies

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